The Theft of Fire
by Endevorer
Summary: When Drago Bludvist spoke about a way to challenge dragons, he also meant something else other than simply controlling them. Somehow, the rogue Cheftian has a second weapon, the power to allow men fight to dragons on equal footing, literally. Stoick thought he thought he was madman, but now that madman has set his sights on his son.
1. A Chief's Madness

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**I've been wanting to write this story out for a while, ****I hope you all enjoy.**

**Please tell me what you think.**

**Chapter 1: A Chief's Madness**

The blizzard overhead reminded me exactly of how felt cold, but full of wrath.

"Ya' can still back out ya' know," advised the blonde haired man, his words slurred. He didn't so much as hold an axe in his hand as much his hand was an axe.

I shook my head, wordlessly defying his small kindness. "Gobber, I have to do this," I said, with as much forced calm I could muster. I knew my best friend had my best intentions at heart, but that didn't mean they were what was best for Berk or for the only other thing in my life that held any meaning.

"No, ya' don't," the blacksmith insisted.

I raised my head and turned towards towards the boarding plank. The storm that raged above made it impossible to see anything except for the pier next to my ship, but I knew there were bound to be a dozen other piers and longships if I tried to find them. "All I have to do is just walk down that and then I'll be committed," I said evenly; now was not the time for me to just…break down, especially not in front of my own crew and my best friend. Though, given the month I've been having, I'm really sure I was nearing my wit's end.

To prove my point, I was about to step off, but Gobber's hand over my shoulders made me look back on last time before leaving. "Stoick," Gobber said to my solemnly. We both knew I was about to walk barefoot into a lion's den and that wasn't exactly exactly an experience either of us liked doing a second time. "If you need me, I'll be here."

I nodded, glad to at least have my friend's support. Hopefully, I didn't need it.

And then, I left my ship, alone, not even bothering to take any guards along with me, because that was part of the agreement.

I trekked through freezing wind and pouring hail, just barely able to see the path laid out for me. I shambled on, just barely able to see the faint light glowing off in the distance and the dark and burned out husks of a long dead village. Perhaps if things had gone differently the past few weeks, I would not have even bothered to bring myself to this accursed place. The weather alone acted like it didn't want me to show up and I knew the worst was up ahead! I was going to be set to my breaking point, and I knew it. Oh, how I wished I could decline.

For what felt like an eternity of being weathered by the forces that toppled mountains, I found myself standing in front of a white frosted door. Unlike any other building in the village, this building was new and functional, not dead and burned out. Light shone through the cracks in the door and I could hear loud conversation from inside the building. This was the place.

I feared going inside, perhaps more than anything else I could ever get frightened of. Shivers that nothing to do with frigid Winter went down my spine and I knew if I stepped inside, things would end up badly for me.

I steeled myself and swallowed every emotion that had been in my heart ever since…. ever since that night. I was not going to show weakness, not here. I would die before that happened.

I burst through to door, just to make an impression on those inside. Dozens men and women all seated in rather ornate chairs all turned to look at me, the young upstart of a Chief that I was, with cold disdain and frowns of indifference. My heart burned with fury and resolve and I met their steely gazes with my own. I then slammed the door behind me shut and then wordlessly sat in the available chair that was furthest away from the door.

"Chief Stoick _the Vast,"_ one of the men hissed. "Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe."

I didn't recognize him, but I at least made sure to look at him in the eye and nod. "Yes," I confirmed. "I'm here and willing to partake in this… conversation." I might have been willing to sit in a den of vipers, but that didn't mean I was going to like it. I was going to make it clear, that while I was able to cooperate, I was not someone to be trifled with.

"I suppose it's better than the Bog Burglars," said the man, then he diverted his attention elsewhere. "Alright," he barked, "please continue."

Another Chief I didn't recognize nodded his head and spoke. "Now, as I was saying, the viciousness and success of dragon attacks has been increasing in the past few years, signifying an-" I tuned the man out, since I wasn't interested in hearing a simple mission briefing. Instead, I was more interested in the inherent danger around me. I looked at all of the men and women that sat all over the room, knowing full well that the only thing keeping all of us from being at each other's throats was a simple agreement to join in this discussion. Other though appeared to be in worse shape than I did, almost scared to death and willing to break the whole house apart of it meant survival.

This was not a Thing, not the way I knew them. There were no festivities, no celebration, only the feeling of foreboding that loomed over our heads. This gathering was a secret, known only to the Chieftains and their most trusted and loyal men and it wouldn't happened if the situation were truly that dire. Many Chiefs lost their lives to dragons, ships were being attacked left and right, the patterns of their travels leaving them vulnerable to marauding flocks. Dozens of Viking Chiefs were all pitching plans and ideas together, all of them coming to the same conclusion, if we Vikings were to survive, we had to eliminate the threat before it was too late; destroy the dragon nests and save our villages...

I don't know long I sat there, on edge, but my silent contemplation ended the moment someone else decided to pull off the same stunt I did.

A man dressed in a cloak of black dragon scales shambled into the room. "If you desire to save your homes, then swear your allegiance and fealty to me." His ragged appearance almost made him look like a vagrant but his words made him sound like a man man. Who was this man?

"And who might you be to make such an audacious claim?" said one man.

"Yeah!" agreed another. "Why should we swear ourselves to you?"

"My name is… Drago Bludvist," the strange man said, almost seeming unsure of it. Yet he stepped forward with renewed fire in his eyes. "I alone possess the power to defeat the dragon hordes, make me your King and I will as my first action rid ourselves of their threat."

I found myself raising my eyes at that. Now, I was certainly interested, enough to pay attention more than just in passing. Other people also paid attention to the strange madman. Whoever he was, he certainly asked for and offered quite a lot. But the real question was, could he live up to that? I stood up, feeling certain I did not want to submit my authority to some random vagrant. "You certainly talk big," I said in his direction, circling the man. "but we don't even know who you are. Who even invited you? You're certainly not the Chief of any Tribe I recognized.

Drago did the same, his arms unmoving, but his eyes looking back and forth all through the room. He might have earned a little bit of attention with his big claims and his flashy entrance, but my words knocked him down several pegs. Still the strange man, narrowed his eyes and looked into mine. "My Tribe and everyone I know is dead!" he spat. "The Chief is no more and I alone remain!"

"So, why should we listen to you, how do we know that you could protect us when you couldn't protect your own Tribe!" I shouted. That should have been the nail in the metaphoric coffin, sinking a mad man's fever dream and paving the way for more serious talk.

But it wasn't. Drago didn't back down. Instead, he went closer to me and shouted in front in of my face. "Because since then, I have acquired a great power, a gift from the gods!" Drago announced, his hand raised in the air, his words becoming not a defense a rally cry."We have long been trampled under the under the scaled feet of dragons for too long!How many of our loved ones must be lost burned to death? How many more lives must be spent just trying to survive? Make me your King and I will free us from their tyranny!"

Murmurs broke out among the crowd, all of them wondering if perhaps this man was a little more than what he appeared to be. Certainly, a dragonscale cloak wasn't common, but that spoke little of one's own skill. Still, my lips quavered a little, unsure of myself if I really should be standing up to a man who was truly blessed by the gods. On the other hand, I still had too much on the line to back down now. No weaknesses, no hesitation "Prove it," I demanded of the man.

Drago smirked a little and then turned to the door. It had since been closed and slammed shut by someone else since the man barged in. "Bring him in!" he barked.

And then suddenly the door flung open again. This time instead of a single person stepping through, there were two large men dragging another poor soul locked in heavy chains, a slave most likely given how disheveled he was. That wasn't exactly uncommon in the Barbaric Archipelago.

"Hey, only chiefs are allowed in this building!" declared one of the Chiefs. He and half the room all drew their weapons and stood to approach the trespassers.

But then I did an act that a part of me knew I was going to regret. I raised my hand and told the other Chief's to stop. "If he's so interested in breaking the rules and sanctity of this meeting, then he must have something worthwhile to show us!" I met the mad man's eyes with steel in my heart and gaze, since my hands lacked it. "If he doesn't, I'll run him through myself!"

The Chiefs though they didn't put down their weapons at least didn't charge through to slay the me and the others. I don't know what convinced them to heed the words of a man as young as I was, but at the very least, I had their attention, if not their respect.

Drago grinned at me, pleased with himself, like a man who was about to make himself a King. "Oh, I don't think you'll be disappointed!" he declared and turned to the man in chains. "Release him!" he declared.

The warriors that escorted the chained man undid drew out a key and undid the chains, dropping them uselessly onto the floor. Yet, the man did not even bother running away. He fell onto the floor, his head bowed as if submitting. There was no begging, no looking Drago in the eye to plead for mercy. I would have thought there would have been some resistance, but this man, well, he wasn't even putting up a fight.

Drago simply stepped forward, as if this was an act he had done a thousand times before. He knelt at the unchained man and placed his right hand upon his forehead. "Remember, this is the last thing I ask of you," he reminded the man, as if there was some long standing agreement between them.

And then the unbound slave began fell face first into the floor, his arms and limbs shaking as though he was going through some sort of seizure. Drago got up and stepped away, completely unconcerned for the man's well being even when the other Chiefs all looked at him concerned. "Shouldn't we help him?" questioned one of the newer Chiefs.

Drago shook his head, looking at his great work. "This is only a small part of my power," he claimed, as if he should be proud of such a baleful and hideous act. The mad mad man certainly had power, but I don't think anyone in that room except him believed it came from any of the gods we worshipped.

The slave, the man…. could hardly be called a man any more in my eyes. Skin was starting to turn into… something that was not skin and limbs began growing claws and become more paw like. All the while, the man, no, the beast grew.

The creature gave a blood curdling roar as it tried to stand on limbs that were misshapen, but becoming more and more suited for whatever dragon it was turning into.

this time I didn't stop the other Chiefs from making their defiance known, no I joined them, drawing my sword.

Drago backed away. "You don't understand!" he shouted at us but we were not in the mood for talking anymore.

I swung my sword at the man hitting his left arm, only to bounce off harmlessly against the metal plating of whatever armor encased it. "We're not going to serve the likes of you!" I declared. This… monstrosity was not something I was going to put up with. Vikings were not dragons, Vikings don't even like dragons. We were both in separate worlds, made wholly incompatible and I was not the only one who shared that sentiment.

Drago guards armed themselves and readied their offense, though their leader instead gestured them to stand back. "No, if they will not listen to reason, let them burn!" he barked.

Then, the roof fell open, a flaming maw descended right at me, blasting the entire building with a burning blaze. Several of the Chiefs were caught completely off guard and roasted and I would have joined them if I was a little older and slower, but I ended up getting several dozen pounds of broken roof shingles and broken wood land squarely on my back, pinning me.

A dragon in armor burst forth while the Drago and his men fled the scene and landed beside me, his axe like helmet threatening to cut me down like an executioner's blade. The other dragon, since he was clearly no longer man, approached the other survivors, his form practically indistinguishable from the beast that he had become.

With no help from anyone else in the room, I realized just how dire my situation had become. It was in that moment, I knew I was going to go to Valhalla, to die a warrior's death. I held my sword up and ready to meet my end with one last defiant stand.

But it then turned out I didn't have an appointment in Odin's Hall tonight. Gobber and a small detachment of hooligan warriors burst through the door, their weapons shining even through the black smoke of the building. Other warriors from other Tribes had all readied themselves and were next to enter the burning building.

"Gobber!" I shouted, getting my best friend's attention. Oh, how many times has he saved me skin in the nick of time?

But then he said something that was very out of character for him to say. "Dad!" he shouted, his voice might higher pitched than a brawl man like him should be capable of.

I blinked. Wait, wasn't he supposed to call me "Stoick" and then slice at the dragon that threatened to chop my head off? In fact, why did I even know that?

"Dad!" the blonde haired man said dragons and Vikings around me all just… froze, as if unable to actually do anything with confusion pounding me like a hammer.

Okay, now I was getting frightened. "Uh… Gobber?" I questioned.

Suddenly, I became aware that my life wasn't being threatened. I looked at the axe helmeted dragon and his form seemed to waver before turning into nothing but smoke.

I squinted at all of the Vikings and they all burst into vapor as well, leaving me behind with a Gobber that only spoke in confusing terms. Even the room we were in turned out to be nothing but an empty void.

I looked at the sword in my hand became transparent and I suddenly remembered I lost the blade during an expedition that happened… months later.

"Wake up, Dad!" I heard the man bark out.

It was then I knew where we were, where I was. I blinked my eyes and they suddenly felt really heavy as if they were tired. Gobber disappeared replaced by a boy that was so scrawny I almost had a time believing he was my son. "Hiccup…" I said wearily, my voice suddenly feeling so weary. I got up, no longer feeling the wieght of the collapsed roof, but the warmth of well made bedsheets.

My son smiled at me as I stood. "Well, this it only took screaming in your ear for an hour," my boy said. He wasn't tall or large, but he was mine. Maybe there was hoping by the time he turned twenty he'd put on some muscle, but as for right now, I loved my toothpick of a boy.

I returned his jest with one of my own, "Well, I'm surprised you haven't gone and raised the dead with shouting like that!"

"So, that's why you seem more like a Draugr than usual!" declared my son, his grin showing.

Then I felt something wet touch my left hand. I turned to see my son's dragon, Toothless nipping at me hand. "Well, good morning to you too, big guy!" I said scruffing the Night Fury's head.

"We better get to breakfast before it gets too cold!" declared my son, leading the way forward.

Toothless made happy noises and went after his friend.

I waved my hand wearily, a little weak from my morning sickness. "You guys go ahead!" I told them. "I'll be there in a minute!"

Hiccup smiled and both my son and his dragon made their way into the kitchen.

I then slid myself out of my bed, still feeling a little like I actually been in a blizzard.

It's been a while since I thought back to that night, back when I was so desperate to write a terrible wrong, so much so that I almost convinced myself that my own memories of the event were a little… off. I distinctly remember that mad man, that Drago Bludvist warp and twist a slave into a dragon; but no one, not even Gobber, the man who had nearly wrote a book on the story of how a dragon kept chasing him for _years_ over a belt buckle, believed me when I said I saw a man turn into a dragon. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone else who survived that incident who remembered the whole thing, the rest either burned up or got hit so hard they forgot.

It had almost gone to the point that I myself had almost convinced myself that that that fanciful part of a man turning into a Viking's mortal enemy was but a fever dream. Almost. I took a look out the nearest window and saw a world where dragons and Vikings lived in harmony with one another; that was every bit as implausible and fanciful as a man changing shape as far as I was concerned and I saw that every time I opened my eyes. I burst into a grin, proud of the work made by my son's hands.

Still, why was I even dreaming about an event that happened fourteen years ago that only I remembered? I mean, it's not like I was suddenly reminded of how I nearly died in a burning building or a man shapeshift before my eyes in the past few weeks. Were the gods trying to tell me something? Or perhaps I was just feeling nostalgic.

I shrugged; it probably didn't matter. I had breakfast and that was far more relevant to me than some fever dream. "Alright, boy, so what's for breakfast?" I called out to my son.

**This story has nothing to do with my other stories "Becoming the Enemy" or "Changing Allegiance". There are similar themes as well as transformation elements, but that's all. The Theft of Fire is more canon compliant though obviously some things are going to be different, especially in regards to how the second movie went down.**

**Ever since the second movie, I've been wondering if I could think of an interesting scenario involving what if Drago had the power to transform men at his disposal. This story is the result.**


	2. Just Another Day at School

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**Well, the first chapter did much better than I thought it would. I guess since people's interest is piqued I shall continue. This story will follow a roughly weekly release schedual as I have a second story I am also working on. Enjoy.**

Toothless and I flew straight out of the house in a sudden motion and we weren't even off the ground. "Later, Dad!" I called out to my father, quickly mounting on my dragon. I slipped my left foot into its mechanical bracings and triggered the release, unfurling the Night Fury's false tailfin.

My Dad, the Chief, just barely had enough time to reach the doorway before Toothless and I were on already several feet in the air and climbing high. He burst out, giddy with laughter. "Have a great day school!" he shouted, waving his hands with excitement.

"Well, you heard him, boy!" I tapped Toothless in the ears. He turned and looked back at me, his expression almost reminiscent of a contented smirk. I urged Toothless to go faster with a slight adjustment of my harness. My dragon was waiting for that excuse to cut loose and we blazed our way to the Dragon Academy, the journey barely taking any longer than a heartbeat. Once we were there, I had Toothless slow down and we descended right in front of the gates.

A few months ago, the Dragon Academy was still a place where people learned about dragons, but these days, it didn't involve battleaxes. So now, classes about chopping and mounting heads were now replaced with lessons on how to groom said heads, not the kind of things our ancestors would have ever expected. It was still fairly small, it being mostly me and my friends trying to figure out this new world and way of things, but I had hopes that the future was bright. Maybe it'll take a few years, who knew.

I rapidly undid my harness and got off the Night Fury. Toothless gave me a bit of a lick and I laughed while I wiped away his salvia. That stuff was always so hard to get out of cloth and even worse when on leather, but hey, I liked my dragon.

Then, we walked right on in to the little… class that was in session. Now I only use the term 'class' loosely, mostly because I was unsure to make up a scene that involved the twins chasing random flaming… things. I mean, I was sure there were several dozen shields rolling all over the place and maybe a few wagons. Tuffnut and Ruffnut were both armed with buckets and tried splashing water onto fleeing, flaming pieces of equipment, meanwhile Barf and Belch did their best to help pick up everything… which really only caused things to get trampled under their feet. I can't really say I would have done a better job, either. Thankfully, Toothless was smart enough to just sit and watch, or maybe that might have been just him wanting to see how the whole thing played out.

I turned to Fishlegs who stood by a chalkboard organized to form some sort of scoreboard, featuring Tuffnut and Ruffnut as the two teams. Once he saw me, he quickly wiped off everything on the board, preventing me from seeing it. "Oh, hey, Hiccup ," he said, his own cheeriness only making him look more guilty.

"Uh… what happened here?" I pointed at the twins.

Tuffnut somehow managed to grab hold onto a smoldering suit of armor, but forgot about the fact it was still on fire. He squealed in agony and ran off and jumped into the nearby water trough. "Ah!" he said, contentedly, only for Ruffnut to splash her brother with water. He spat water out of his mouth and looked at his sister annoyed. Thankfully, they were rapidly making progress at putting out the burning junk.

"Just making sure!" she declared.

"Oh, nothing!" Fishleg declared, looking at his dragon. Meatlug was by his master's feet, curled up and happily licking the large boy's legs."Just the usual… morning stuff?"

I rolled my eyes at that, but I didn't force the issue. I think for the sake of my sanity, I was not going to question anything the twins did… so long as they didn't cause too much property damage. I just knew neither the twins nor the Zippleback would let me anywhere near… whatever it is they were doing, I've been involved in way too many of the twin's games to really want to get involved. Now, how did Fishlegs fit into all of this?

I shook my head I think there were other things more important for me to focus on. The sounds of a particular Nadder's cry nearby told me that someone I had been looking forward to see had arrived. Astrid and Stormfly swooped in into the former arena. Then, while still up in the air, Astrid leapt off of the dragon and cartwheeled herself until she stood upright..

I clapped my hands, excited to see her arrive and amazed at the stuff she could pull off. There was a reason I still sometimes think I might not be worth her time, let alone being her boyfriend.

She bowed and gave me a satisfied smirk, glad for the applause, but that quickly faded once Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran past her, chasing the last of the burning shields. "What was that about?" she asked, looking perplexed.

I shrugged. "The twins doing the same thing as usual," I said glumly, then turned to Fishlegs for back up.

Fishlegs smiled, obviously trying to hide his involvement. "Yup, just the twins."

Astrid squinted at us then the twins and then us. She suddenly looked really tired, like she hadn't had good night's sleep. "At least it's not burning livestock this time…" she , rounding sheep is not really all that hard, but burning sheep was another story.

"And they cleaned themselves up this time." I gestured over to the twins, who were trying to put out the last burning shield. Strangely, did did the smart thing and had Barf and Belch swat the blaze away with their tail. "Usually, it takes more yelling before they lift a hand."

"Does not!" complained Ruffnut.

"Yeah, it does!" argued Tuffnut, swatting his sister on the head. "We need loads more yelling before we do anything!"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "You're not helping!"

"Well, that's because you need to yell louder!" said her brother.

On second thought, the twins were crazy. I turned my eyes over at Fishlegs.

My oldest friend gave me a very sheepish smile once he saw Astrid and I put our attention on him. Clearly he had something to do with… whatever happened, but neither of us said a word.

Much to Fishleg's relief, someone else came and drew the attention away from him. Snotlout and Hookfang flew into the room, my cousin sounding like he had won an award in something. "Guys, guys!" he shouted. He rapidly dismounted and approached Astrid and myself, holding a piece of parchment in his hands.

Astrid and I turned to look at each other, not sure what to make of him. "So, what's it this time, Snotlout?" I asked. At first, it was strange asking these question, being the one in charge among my group of friends, but it hasn't been too bad.

"Just got this letter today from one of the neighboring Tribes!" Snotlout declared, proud of himself. He gave himself a big grin and held up the letter. "One of the weaker Tribes has asked me to help them!"

"Huh, that's weird, why'd anyone ask you for help?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, you need more yelling than either of us before your hands…and I don't know how that anyone," Tuffnut added. He then backed away from Snotlout, pinching his nose. "In fact, maybe you'd be more helpful putting your arms down! Hey, OW!"

Maybe other days, I would backed up the twins, but think Tuffnut deserved a fist to into the face for that remark. Besides, he didn't deserve it, did he? I took a quick sniff of the air, and already reconsidered. Yeah, maybe he should put his arms down.

Astrid took the letter and read it. "_'To Berk's esteemed dragon defeating warriors,'_" she read aloud. "Snotlout, this letter is for the academy, not _you_."

"And who's the best Dragon Trainer you got?" Snotlout snapped defensively.

Astrid turned to me a tiny grin on her face. "Hiccup," she said. I flashed her my own grin, glad to have her watching my back. There were perks to girlfriends.

"Only by a little!" Snotlout said, holding up his hands as if he was trying to pinch on to something very small. "Who's your _second_ best?"

"Well, if I'm first, then second would be Astrid!" I declared. Astrid and I exchanged looks. I mean, both of us worked hard to get where we were. I mean, sure she probably deserved to be on top, but hey, I'm not going to argue with her. Odin knows that wouldn't turn out well.

"Well, Astrid should be on top!" Snotlout said. I nodded my head in agreement. "Okay, so who's the third best?"

Astrid and I exchanged a look and secretly agreed we liked where this conversation was going. Snotlout deserved being knocked down another peg for his pride. "Fishlegs!" we both shouted.

Fishlegs right now was busy mostly trying to resolve a dispute that occurred between Meatlug and Barf and Belch. He tuned in right in time to notice Snotlout's look started to turn a little dour. "You're better than the twins though!" the large blonde said.

Astrid and I both exchanged looks, actually unsure of which was actually… better. The twins got along with Barf and Belch like it was second nature, but they were likely candidates for having descent from Loki. On the other hand, Snotlout was more predictable, but he didn't exactly reign in control of Hookfang all too well. So, Astrid did the smart thing and instead went back on topic. "So, Hiccup, what do we do about this?" she handed me the letter.

I quickly read it.

_To Berk's esteemed dragon defeating warriors,_

_Much has been said about your skill and prowess in dealing with dragons and we would request your aid in combatting the dragons that besiege our village. We humbly ask you to lend us your swords and spears and fell this menace._

_Chief Bonehead of Skullrock Peaks_

Upon reading that, one thing immediately became clear. They _really _had no idea who they were dealing with. I mean, sure, people know that I fought a dragon the size of a mountain, but they think that I'm some seven foot tall demigod who pops the heads off of sea serpents with my bare hands and wears a cloak made of lion skin. They weren't expecting a young teenager who was still waiting for puberty to strike. I needed a dragon to fight another dragon, that's not how traditional Viking heroes were. "They're going to be very disappointed," I muttered aloud.

Astrid smirked and gave me a jab in arm, hard enough to make me grab it from the pain. "Hey, you'll be fine! You got me… and him." She pointed at a particular dragon who was at my side.

Toothless apparently agreed with her and took the opportunity to sneak another flurry of licks. Well, he was no lion skin or sea serpent, but I think a coming to the village riding a Night Fury was impressive enough to have them take me seriously. I patted my dragon on the head and wiped off his spit. Laundry day was going to be interesting. "Alright, bud, I guess get to show off."

Toothless's tail swayed back and forth. He was definately giddy.

"Pft!" Snotlout hissed. "No dragon can make up for how you look!"

That earned Snotlout a slap via tailfin, deserving of it again. Astrid could only glare.

"He does have a point" I said. "I'm going to need to look... better.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You're thinking of bringing it again?"

I nodded my head. "I won't set another building on fire!"

"That's what you said last time," Fishlegs interjected. "And the time before that."

"I was still working the bugs out of the prototypes!" I declared, upset at being betrayed by my two fears. Thanks for having my back, guys! "I'm sure it'll grab people's attention!"

"Yeah, especially when you set houses on fire!" mockingly agreed Tuffnut.

"Ooh, can we bring marshmallows? It'll be a good bonfire!" said Ruffnut.

"Okay, Everyone Pick on Hiccup Hour is over!" I said, quickly forcing my way through my friends. I wasn't really upset about being picked on, since I was used to that sort of treatment. Besides, when my friends did it, I sometimes laughed along with them or poked fun at myself for them. Really, I just felt that the situation might have been a little urgent. I know we got the letter just now, but there was no telling how dire the situation actually was. "I'll check in with Dad to see if we can leave by today. I don't know how long it'll take, but pack your bags just incase."

Fishlegs and Astrid nodded immediately. They at least took the situation seriously and were already coming up with plans. "The island sounds familiar, I'll check to see if it's on any of our maps," said Fishlegs.

"And I'll be sure to pack any extra gear," Astrid said. "If there's dragon problems, some fresh dragon nip would take care of them no sweat!"

"Good, those'll be a real big help," I grinned inwardly, proud to be in charge of such a well oiled team. Fishlegs and Astrid were the best help I could ever possibly had. You don't become top members of the Berk Dragon Academy by collecting bottle corks.

I turned to my other friends. Tuffnut and Ruffnut weren't paying perfect attention to me and we're off on some tangent about… boot size of all things. Snotlout, was facing me, but he was also taking a glance over at Astrid, his eyes rolling up to the sky to imagine something, no doubt a very bad pickup line. Well, I guess that probably meant Snotlout was _slightly _better than the twins.

I then took Toothless and stepped out of the Dragon Academy, my dragon's tail swishing all the way. "I know, bud, you can't wait to see these new people," I said, scratching the back of his scaly ears.

He purred, contently, as if he were agreeing me. A part of me liked to imagine he really understood what I was saying, but I knew better than that. I could at least guess. For people who tended to be… saner than a certain Berserker boy-Chief I knew, it was usually a good idea to introduce them to my dragon. Toothless liked meeting new people, especially other dragons. He liked to show off, performing aerial stunts or come up with flashy displays. At least, that's what I thought.

"Well, we better go see, Dad, he'll want to know about this," I said as I mounted the Night Fury.

He growled something that as an ordinary boy, I didn't understand.

"Don't worry, bud," I said, guessing at this words. Sometimes, I wished we spoke the same language, but that was just wishful thinking. "Everything is going to be alright."

We didn't need to speak the same language to be friends. Toothless licked his lips and took off.

**The stage is set. Next week, we'll see things take off.**


	3. Dragons, Dragons Everywhere!

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**This chapter is quite longish, but lots of things happen here. Let's just say I want to have the plot start rolling out quickly.**

**Please enjoy and tell me what you think.**

You know, a few months back, getting my Dad to agree on letting me take up a quest was as laughable as me ever scoring a girlfriend. The journey would have taken days for me to just to head to the destination and my father didn't trust me to not set the house in fire if he left me alone for more than a few hours. I had very little experience with weapons and would get myself killed fighting any serious swordfighter or deadly dragon. Good thing it wasn't a few months back, my girlfriend, Astrid, would agree with me.

See, I might not have changed all that much from a few months ago, but with Toothless, anything was possible. I didn't have be to be strong or tough to survive a fight, not when I had him blasting away at any opposition we faced. Flying was practically cheating as far as traveling was concerned and my dragon was the fastest flier I know. Because of that, me and friends went on whole quests in the amount of time it takes for other Vikings to just sail there.

Speaking of my friends. I turned my head back, taking a brief glance at my companions. Everyone was in the formation behind me, Fishlegs, Astrid, Snotlout, and the twins. Oh and of course their dragons. I mean, we can't really be dragonriders without them, right?

"Are we there yet?" complained Snotlout, his expression bored.

"Yeah! I want to bash my head!" shouted Tuffnut.

"Don't you mean bash _some _heads?" questioned his sister.

"Well, where's the fun in that?" yelled the Tuffnut. Then, of their own urging, Barf and Belch drew their heads closer, allowing the boy to get a moment to lunge at his sister.

"Hey, ow!" complained Ruffnut, grasping her helmet.

"See, it's fun!" yelled Tuffnut. Ruffnut, in reply, sent a fist at her brother. "Hey Ow!"

"You're right!" she agreed. The two then went on a spree of hitting each other in the cranium, for no other reason than sheer boredom making them angsty.

Astrid and I rolled our eyes. Even when flying, the twins were a never ending source of antics. I guess it was at least an inflight distraction. "Hey, knock it off you, two, before I bash both of your heads in!" my girlfriend replied.

"Aw, fine!"

"You're no fun!" The twins complained and then broke off.

I then turned to Fishlegs, who had a map out and was a little more versed in geography than I was. I mean, I was no slouch, but my oldest friend did all sorts of things for a hoppy. "How much further?"

"Around… fifteen minutes?" he guessed, sounding unsure of himself.

"Fifteen minutes?" I repeated. "That's not too bad." I just hoped it was enough time for the twins to wait before they went at each other again. Sure their antics haven't made them fall off Barf and Belch in a seriously life threatening way yet, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen.

"Fifteen minutes? Can't we hurry up!" complained Snotlout. He had this nervous expression on his face, like there was a sense of urgency that was important to him. I didn't take any leaps of logic to realize he had to go.

"You should have gone to the outhouse before we left like everyone else!" shouted Fishlegs.

"I didn't have to go then!" shouted Snotlout.

"And that's why you don't empty your waterskins before take off!" Astrid reprimanded him.

Against anyone else, he probably would have come up with a stubborn reply, but like me, Snotlout had a soft spot for Astrid. Instead, he just cringed and looked like he wished Astrid didn't stare at him.

I sighed. Of course, if it's not the twins, it's Snotlout. Fifteen minutes suddenly looked like too much time to wait. Well, I guess it was a good thing we weren't sailing our way over, now that would have been unbearable. The ship would have sank before we left port, or worse. Actually on thinking about it, just spending two days trapped on the same ship as both the twins and Snotlout was probably a feat that I think would earn me a spot in Valhalla.

It was an eternity in Hel's domain before before I saw the island with my naked eyes, far too long for my liking. The twins were mere inches from going at each other from sheer boredom again and Snotlout's cringing was getting worse, like he'd break at any moment. I sighed, it was time like these I kind of regret being in charge, but hey, it was better than how things used to be. Besides, I had a plan to keep the party from falling apart. "So, who wants to race me to Skullrock Peaks?"

Snotlout, still cringing, turned to me. "Well, I'd beat you if it weren't for…"

Astrid took the moment to chime in. "Aw, so Snotlout doesn't think he has what it takes to beat poor _widdle _Hiccup?" She then took a glance at me with a knowing smile. Yeah, I can always count on Astrid.

"Well, duh!" interrupted Tuffnut. "I mean, isn't Toothless like a way better dragon that Hookfang?"

"Heh, yeah, no way _old_ Snotlout stands a chance on a Hookfang!" agreed Ruffnut.

It was surprisingly helpful of things, since I could tell it caused Snotlout's face to contort into a thinking expression, the kind of thing that normally happens when former idiots like me did something smart. And while I didn't know if Toothless actually understood Norse enough to get all that, I did whisper in his ear not to let it let it all go to his head.

"I can _so beat_ him!" insisted Snotlout. He wasn't cringing anymore, because now there was something a little more important to him than needing a new pair of pants.

"So, care to put your money where your mouth is?" Astrid chimed in. Oh, the perks of having a girlfriend.

Snotlout steamed over and readjusted himself in his seat. I knew what was about to happen next and I didn't let hi m do it… not without letting myself have a head start. "Then see you at the finish line!" I shouted. I quickly tapped on the pedal and hit the acceleration to its fullest.

Toothless and I rocketed forth, bursting ahead of the group in a surge.

Snotlout went in after me, tailing me despite my speed. "Get back here! I've got to win!" Hookfang might have been a big lumbering Monstrous Nightmare but that didn't mean he was a slouch.

As soon as Snotlout went in, the twins joined in, coming after the Nightmare. "Hey, don't forget us!"

"Yeah, we want to win, too!" shouted the twins. I couldn't tell who was speaking for who was speaking what, their voices almost sounding the same at my speed.

Just then, a blue shape darted right past us all, giving me pause before I saw who it was. Astrid and Stormfly flew forward, their sudden burst of speed surprising us all. "Hey, if anyone's going to win, it's me!" she shouted at us, heading straight toward the island.

'Uh, sure!" Snotlout said, sounding like there was internal war between his own sense of pride and his desire to appeal to girls. Man, did his pride stand no chance.

I turned to Toothless. My dragon gave me a look, wordless wanting to know my command and I thought for a moment that maybe I should let Astrid win. And then I remember that Astrid was not the kind of person who wanted to have victory handed to her on a silver platter. I shifted myself back into the right gear, sending Toothless and be forth in a swoop."In your dreams!" I shouted, as I flew past her.

And because Astrid wasn't the kind of person who didn't like victory handed to her a silver platter, she was also the kind of person who liked to compete. She flew beside me, laughing. "That's the only place you could win!"

Then we both gave each other smiles like they were plastered over our faces, slowing down enough just for a little bit of chitchat. The little ruse we started worked like a charm, stopping the twins and Snotlout from getting out of control before we could land. Sure, the rest of the others were just barely able to keep up with us, but we were getting so close to the island and they were too focused on racing to do too much damage to each other. This was definitely one fun way to end a boring several hour trip.

And then I heard Fishleg shout, barely audible to my ears."Uh, guys!" I turned back at him, trailing just behind the other racers. His dragon was the slowest of course, but hey, he liked Meatlug and that's what mattered.

"You're doing great!" I shouted back. I know being on the slowest dragon made him a little… insecure sometimes and ever since the whole Gronckle Iron incident, I'd been making it a point to remind him that it was fine being slower and less agile than everyone else. Meatlug was his dragon and he shouldn't regret that.

"Yeah, Meatlug's doing better than average this time around!"

"It's not that!" Fishleg shouted, his tone sounding annoyed. He then pointed off to our far right. "That!"

Astrid and I turn our heads towards the direction and what we saw scared us. It's been ages since we say so many dragons coming right at us, but there it was. A huge, and I mean, _huge_ flock of flying reptiles flew right in our general direction and we all knew what was coming ahead. The only times dragons there were only two occasions ever when get together like that and it wasn't mating season.

"That would be their dragon problems…" I said, deadpan. I was about to wish that a group of them didn't notice us, but an entire flank of them broke off and shifted course.

"They're going to intercept us!" shouted Fishlegs, his tone practically drenched in fear.

"Heh! Well, I'm not afraid! Bring it you overgrown winged reptiles, bring it!" Shouted Snotlout.

Astrid turned to look at me. Boy, now I wish I wasn't in charge. "What now?"

I shook my head. "We're getting to that village, fly low and-!" I was about to say, "hope not to get blasted out of the sky", but I think the fact Toothless had to evade several long range blasts of flame kind of spoke that for me.

Then, the dragons lunged in at us, overwhelming that side and probably would have engulfed us entirely if momentum wasn't on our side right now. Dozens of the creatures, some of which were of kinds I had never seen before, went in after us, chasing us down when they couldn't stop our advance.

Automatically, me and my friend took evasive actions, diving into the tree line to provide ourselves cover and to make up for our severe numerical , we might have been dragon trainers, but that didn't mean we couldn't defend ourselves from them when we need it. We _still _had the tactical training that Vikings used to kill them after all.

I kept my team moving forward; there was no way any of us would survive if we stayed to fight. "Keep together!" I shouted, Toothless's uncanny speed allowing him to dodge blows and blasts with equal ease. My dragon then returned fire, blasting a tree down to clip several dragons when it fell."Snotlout, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, shore up our flanks, Astrid knock down any that get too close! Fishlegs, know anything that can help?"

Fishleg's expression shifted, his eyes rapidly checking through his map. "The village is up ahead!" he replied. Meatlug ducked him just in time to avoid getting forced off his mount. To make up for that, Snotlout and the twins, gleefully tackled into the swooping dragon, sending it flying into a tree in revenge.

I cringed, thinking on the situation. Snotlout and the twins were having the time of their lives, right now, ordering their dragons to force their way through the advancing enemies, but who knew how long it'd take before a single misstep sent them to the ground. Astrid, too, was in peak fighting condition, swinging her axe and having Stormfly launch volleys to cover our rear, but Astrid was just one person. I might think she's perfect, but she's not invincible.

I patted Toothless on the head and then made a choice. I just hoped that the village didn't end up shooting us down instead. "Alright, we've got to join with the Skullrocks and make our stand with the-"

Suddenly, I felt a massive force slam into my, sending me nearly flying off saddle. Good thing I installed those reinforced straps on my flight suit or else I would have been a goner. I turned and looked at the dragon that rammed into me and it felt like the bottom fell out of my stomach. It was huge and fast, yet it was agile enough to evade the trees with equal measure. Because of the speed were going and the trees in the way, I was barely able to tell what it looked like other than the pinkish shade of its scales and… was tas someone riding on top of it?"What is that!?" I cried.

"Don't know," shouted Fishlegs. "But it's coming in again."

The strange dragon and the figure that stop atop the great beast darted through trees with ease and went in for a tackle.

"I got it!" cried Snotlout, urging his dragon to intercept the other… But it was all for naught. Snotlout was thrown back like a ragdoll, sent flying off seat and into the dirt below. Hookfang was about as fortunate, having his body slammed into a tree so hard it broke. The dragon screaeched in agony and fell to the ground beside his master.

"Snotlout!" Astrid cried, urging her dragon to chase after our fallen friend. Snotlout might be a pain, but even Astrid and I didn't dislike him that bad to leave him for dead.

Unfortunately, the twins were also getting knocked around. Sure, they might have been gluttons for punishment, but even then they had their limits. They weren't too far away from Astrid when they went down.

"That dragon's taking us apart!" cried Fishlegs. "And the others are still gaining on us!"

I knew he was right and it was at that point, I made a desperate move. "Stay with Astrid and keep low!" I told my oldest friend. "She'll need you to patch everyone up!" I then patted Toothless on the head and urged him to go out and attack the dragon that had been harassing our friends.

"Come back, Hiccup!" I heard Astrid cry, her voice sounding further and further away. About the only thing I saw left of her were the sheer number of dragons that swarmed over them all. I would like to say, I turned and headed back to her, but I knew the only way to let my friends get out of this alive was to take out the biggest threat in the area.

Toothless and I tackled into the strange dragon and diverted it off course, letting it smash in a tree. Unfortunately, it still kept going and in return went to smash us into splinters.

We were more agile and ducked out of the way, letting it run itself into another tall pine tree. "You're not getting rid of us that easy!" I taunted at the dragon and its rider. I didn't know who they were, but I did _not _appreciate whoever this person was.

The dragon then went to tackle us again, slamming its body down but Toothless and I dropped our altitude again and- Wait, why was that dragon turning upside down and was its rider-

Everything suddenly went dark as I felt something slam slam into my face, something wooden. Then, I felt something hit me in the left leg, the side where Toothless's- Oh no. I blinked the stars out my eyes just in time for me to hear Toothless's whine and screeach in frightened shrieks. We were going down and there was nothing I can do to stop it. The dragon had shattered the control apparatus!

I experienced a whole world of pain. I don't recall every bone breaking tumble or every spine shattering landing, but I know ended up flat on the ground, winded and exhausted. I tried to get up, to stand and put up a fight, but my body wasn't exactly the toughest thing around Berk. I struggled to blink open my eyes and when I finally could, I found my attacker looming right over me with his utterly massive dragon.

He dropped low onto one knee and I think he was examining me for something, but I coughed out the dirt I ended up eating in my crash, sending him away. He turned to his dragon, shaking this… rod thing, that I didn't remember the name of. I know it was some sort of instrument or something, but the name eluded me, probably because of my head being sore.

I was about get up and make my escape but then suddenly, the masked figure's dragon was suddenly knocked to the ground and struggling to get up as a much smaller dragon tried to wrestle with it. Toothless might have been terrific in the air, but he still had plenty of moves to use on the ground. The large dragon might have had size as an advanatge, but my dragon had the initiative.

"Get 'em, bud!" I managed to choke out. The figure that loomed over me went in to intervene but the fighting was just too ferocious.

Toothless tore bite after bite into the dragon's backside, causing it to try to tumble away to try to shake the Night Fury off. Unfortunately, that tumbling had its costs. One misstep in their chaotic frenzy and I saw the two dragons disappear down right off a cliff.

The masked figure and I both gasped, but unlike him, I was too injured to pursue my dragon. He went off to after the two fighting dragons, leaving me alone.

I croaked in agony once he was gone. I hoped Toothless was alright, but I knew I couldn't just stay here. I needed to survive to go look for Toothless. I did a quick damage report, checking to see what was broken. So far, I think the worst of what I had was a broken rib. There was also my leg, but I immediately saw means to repair.

I dragged my body over to a fallen tree branch, figuring I could use it to repair or replace my shattered limb.

Unfortunately, I wasn't going to get that option. Suddenly, a Monstrous Nightmare, one that was definitely not Hookfang, dropped right out of the sky, shattering the broken tree branches into a pile of twigs. It roared and I suddenly felt like my chances for survival were now left entirely to the whim of the gods.

I tried to drag my body away from the dragon as fast as I could, but the dragon behind me would have caught me even in my best of days. It was about to lunge at me and do… whatever it wanted to do to me.

And it never got the chance. I heard the dragon scream in frustration and turning my back, I found that the Nightmare had suddenly been ensnared in several nets. I stared in amazement for a few moments until the dragon suddenly started to chew through his bindings. It tried to break through, blasting flame in every direction, all of it useless against an iron net, but not so much against flesh.

I scurried away, but the dragon's frenzied and desperate attacks all came close to leaving me a burnt crisp. And one such gout of flame looked like it was just about to. Then a stranger, a boy around Snotlout's dimensions, but more hygienic looking, grabbed onto my wrists and dragged me out of the line of fire. "I got him!" He shouted.

Looking him in the eyes, I wanted to ask questions, wonder about who this boy was or who he was talking to, but I still felt too dizzy to come up with anything resembling coherent thought. "Who-"

"You're safe now!" he said, putting me behind a tree and looking at the dragon. "The others will take care of it!"

"The others?" I groaned, turning my attention to the still ensnared dragon. it head was finally starting to poke out of the net and there was no telling how long it would be before it would be free.

My question was soon answered when maybe half a dozen men came bursting out of trees, all armed with nooses on poles. They quickly ensnared the dragon by the neck and it renewed it desperate attempts to get free. Several of the men were knocked back by the dragon's ferocity, but most stood firm.

I didn't see anyway how any of the men were going to stop the dragon's rampage. I knew it was eventually going to get free unless it was knocked out or something and who knew what it would do once it was. I knew from experience that anger did not exactly make a dragon easier to train.

And then another man, wearing a black cloak, approached the dragon, his stance practically unwavering against the frenzied beast.

The dragon saw him and immediately blasted him with the strongest gout of flame he could. I was about to expect the man screaming in agony after being set on fire, but… he just walked through the blaze, the fire uselessly bouncing of his cloak.

The dragon tried again, but the man slowly approach, as if he's done this a thousand times. Nothing fazed him, not the dragon, not its flaming breath, not its frightened wailing and whimpering when the man was suddenly right in front of its face. The Nightmare… could no longer see any reason to fight back and I could tell it had given up entirely against an enemy that had it so thuroughly beating. It bowed its head in man obliged it by stamping its boot to the dragon's nose.

I just stared at the scene. Just what manner of man was this, that he could do _that _to a dragon. A part of me was impressed, wanting to know how this man did such a thing, another part wanted to cry out in revulsion.

The man turned and approached me and the strange boy, leaving the dragon still stuck in its bindings, frightened and afraid. "You did well Eret," the man, his tone was even, a bit hard, but it was still something.

The boy, Eret, burst out into a bit of a big grin, like he knew he deserved that bit of acknowledgement. "Thank you, sir Drago!"

The man, apparently Drago, then turned to look at me. Now that he was so close, I could tell his cloak was made of dragon scales, all black. "And who might you?"

**And yup. I figure Eret is probably around Hiccup and co.'s age group, so in this fic, if he worked for Drago early enough, he'd still probably be a teenager, though perhaps older than the others.**

**And Drago saves Hiccup's life, doing something that many of you who seen the second movie might find familiar… and disturbing.**

**Hope I caught anyone's attention with this stunt.**


	4. First Impressions

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**Sorry to those of you who also read Changing Alliegence, I just ended up with a case of Writer's Block after figuring out that I hadn't considered the follow up all to well. Regardless, I've brought this story, hopefully the other comes in earlier next week to make up for it.**

**Until then, read this and enjoy.**

"Who might you be?" The strange man, this Drago, looked at me, squinting his eyes as if I was some sort of redhaired stepchild. He scanned my busted leg, his eyes full of other questions.

"My name is Hiccup," I said, a little bit afraid. Rule number one of being a runt, everyone else can step on you if you make them angry enough, especially if you're at their mercy.

"Well, ain't you runt of the litter?" It was a common tradition to name the runts "Hiccup", not just something my home island did. He moved his hand to my ruined prosthetic. "How'd you lose it?"

"Uh, a dragon took it," I hastily replied. I didn't recall the exact specifics of my fight against the Red Death, but I think it was to blame. I didn't want to make this guy upset, not when he loomed right over me with a small warband. My senses were finally starting to recover, allowing me to take notice of what was about twenty men and a teenager.

Unfortunately, saying a dragon was responsible seemed to only set the tall man on edge. I could practically imagine seeing steam come out his nostrils. "Dragons…" he said disdainfully. He then turned to the Monstrous Nightmare and shot it a glare, as if it had been responsible. The dragon whimpered, still trapped, but did nothing else.

I felt uneasy, seeing this man cow a dragon like that. He clearly had some… hatred issues about them, enough that he was willing to substitute the nearest dragon as a scapegoat for… whatever issues he had. Somehow, I think Toothless is better off spending some time away from me.

"Is the dragon that did this to you dead?" Drago said, finally turning back to me after glaring down the submissive dragon.

I nodded, mostly out of fear. I was practically like that dragon myself, at the mercy of someone far greater than me; I didn't want him to have any reason to do more.

"Good," Drago replied and then turned to his men. "Tie up that beast so we can take it back with us later, I want us to get a move on before sundown. The Skullrocks deserve a proper demonstration once this is over!" The men and the lone teenager gave cries of cheer and promply began tying up the dragon more thoroughly, binding the creature's limbs to make it nigh impossible for it to escape from the net.

"But what about this one?" The boy, Eret, pointed to me.

Drago grimaced at me, still thinking up what to do with me. "Take him with us, the Skullrocks will be wanting one their own when we arrive at their doorstep, especially once the...festivities start."

"But-"

"But what?"

For a moment, I was going to say who I was, that I was not from this island, but I thought otherwise. I had no idea who this person was. He very clearly implied he wasn't a member of the local tribe, which left me no idea what his stance towards Berk was. For all I know, Drago is one of my Dad's worst enemies and letting him know I was my Dad's son was… potentially life ending. Plus, I didn't exactly have a banner of diplomacy or a Night Fury to protect me in the case things went wrong. Instead, I glanced down at my leg.

Drago nodded, more sympathetic looking than a man seemingly as ruthless as him would appear to be. "Alright, Eret, it'll be your job to carry him until we're at the village."

Eret scowled, not exactly pleased with that idea. "But why me? You've got loads of larger men."

"Because you're a trapper, not a fighter. And right now, we don't need trappers. Now, make yourself useful." Drago then stepped away, apparently no longer feeling the matter needed to be discussed.

Eret turned to scowl at me. I returned a sheepish grin, knowing that while I haven't made Drago an enemy, there was someone who didn't quite like me. "You owe me for this."

I just nodded my head. He might not have been as terrifying as his boss, but I didn't exactly feel like annoying the kindly people who saved my life. No, I only do that to my friends and enemies, most especially my enemies.

Eret picked me up and put my arm over his shoulder, practically trapping me like I was some sort of shoulder bag. We then stepped forward; well, he stepped forward, I just did little hops to catch up. "Good thing you know how to step, otherwise, I wouldn't do this," he grumbled as we went after the other warriors. Drago led the way, taking the rest of us with him. Only two warriors stayed behind.

Still, even as we left, I still couldn't help but turn back, right to the cliff where my best friend had fallen from. I don't know what's happened with Toothless, but I sure hope he's managed to get away from that other dragon. I know he probably survived the fall, since I know he's suffered worse, mostly because of me, but there was no telling if he could beat that strange dragon… and its rider. Making things worse were all of the dragons in the air. Sure, most of them were concentrated over the center of the island, but there was always a few outliers that stalked the forest. Toothless might have been one of the most powerful dragons in the air, but on the ground, that left him a sitting duck.

And then were the rest of my friends. I left them at possibly worst time ever, letting them all, my girlfriend included to be swarmed over by like thirty different dragons. Now, I know that each them could stand their ground against most enemies and befriend other dragons, but taming any number of dragons over three was dicey. As soon as they convinced one or two to stop trying to fight them, the others would be launching thirty attacks at once. I've had nightmares that sort of thing could actually happen and now it was coming true! Boy, I sure hope their dragons would protect them. I've had nightmares that sort of thing could actually happen and now it was coming true!

I sighed; it's just like how I used to get when Dad left me, the worst part is never knowing if you'll see each other again. The only difference is that everyone involved is stuck in a warzone; not pretty.

With those thoughts still in my heart, I have made up my mind. As soon as I replace my busted foot, I was going to find my friends and do whatever it takes to make sure we came out alive.

I don't know how long the silent trek lasted. Each step felt like a miniature eternity in the realm of Loki's most important daughter. I hobbled along, Eret and I had mostly gotten used to being stuck in place together. Drago and his men were right in front of us, eyes peeled and watching for danger. More than once, the group had to stop to hide from a marauding dragon, but other than that, nothing happened.

Eventually, we made our way at the village, stopping by a hill within throwing distance of the furthest building. The Skullrock village, though it wasn't at the peak of a mountain, was situated right at the base. Even at this distance, it all seemed like a rather ordinary place, a typical Viking village made of wooden buildings, the usual thing I had come to expect. Which was very bad when dragons wanted to blast the place with fire.

The whole village practically glowed from the devastation the dragons were bringing to the place. Dragons soared overhead, ducking in to steal livestock and fish. Anything that stood in their way was blasted without hesitation. Men, women, and children, didn't so much as flee their homes as much as they _regrouped_. Anyone who could lift a sword picked up the nearest one they could and swung it at the beast. Yes, Skullrock village was like any normal Viking village; it was Berk's the odd one, doing such crazy ideas like befriending dragons.

I felt my gut sink to my stomach. It's been a long time since I last seen dragons ransacking Vikings, so long that I almost forgot what it all looked like to have the entire village get up in arms to defend itself. Looking at Skullrock, a small part of me couldn't help but remember what things were like before I met Toothless. The dragons had free reign over the skies and there was no one in the air to challenge them. Fires roared chaotically, seeking out more Viking homes to burn, without their creators' aid. The Vikings were simply at the dragon's mercy and hoping for the fight to end sooner. If there were _any_ way to contest their dominance of the skies, like other, friendly dragons, the whole situation would have been far better for the Vikings involved.

And I wasn't the only who knew it. Drago approached the scene, scowling.

Eret followed right behind him, letting me take a closer look at the burning. Boy, how I wish I had Toothless to put a stop to it. Earlier today, I wanted to show up on the Skullrock's door step in style to make a good impression on my first official visit as the so called "Dragon Conqueror", now I just wanted to put a stop to this. "We can't just… stand back!" I blurted out. Sure, I was scared of Drago, but not enough that I wasn't willing to do anything in my power to help.

To my surprise, the man nodded. "No, we can't." He then turned to his men. "Any volunteers?"

Several of the men looked hesitant by what their leader asked them, their faces filled with very clear indecision. Even Eret seemed a little uncertain, stiff as an icicle.

Drago scowled and scanned his men, looking for unwilling volunteers for… whatever he was planning. For a moment, he looked like he was even considering using me for this unknown task, which both crazy and terrifying. What kind of use was a boy with a only a single leg? I mean, it's not like I was the first pick in Bashyball. Good thing he decided against it. Drago then circled around his men and randomly started pointing out a number of them, probably selecting the ones who had their eyes closed at the wrong split-second. "You, you, you, step forward."

The men, though hesitating did as was told. Drago called more forward, gathering them up in a line. Strangely, for men who were going into battle, they were decidedly doing the opposite of preparing; what else do you call leaving your weapons behind and taking off your armor? Even I knew that and I was terrible. And I turned away, just in time to avoid a nasty sight. Okay, that was definitely too far. "What are they doing?" I whispered to Eret, only looking at them with the corner of my eye.

The boy cringed, clearly he knew and he didn't like it. "You'll see."

I turned to Drago who thankfully got in between me and his men. The leader of this small warband was sizing up his men, making sure they were… ready. I failed to see how unequipping _everything_ got men ready for a fight but apparently, the large man approved of that. Then, with his right hand he began touching each and every man on the shoulder, listing out the names of different types of dragons as he did so. "Nadder, Gronckle, Timberjack…"

I could only stare at the odd ritual. Was it some sort of good luck rite? The kind of strange things some Viking clans did for good luck? I mean, I guess it makes sense that no one would be willing to do it, especially if it was so… demeaning.

But before I could think on the strange ritual further. Drago turn back to his men and said one final word. "Change."

Then, all of the men suddenly fell on to their knees, grunting and groaning as swift pain overtook them. It wasn't hard to see why. The men… changed before my eyes, taking on scales, their faces elongating into snouts. Feet remained feet, but their hands didn't always remain hands. Bodies enlarged, spines became as clay. Screams changed from words into caws and cries.

It was a terrifying sight to behold several men change into dragons before my eyes, one that I was sure I was never going to forget. I had once dreamt about maybe turning into a dragon to fly beside Toothless, if only for just one day. It would have been a great time, being able to do something like that with my best friend. Who hasn't had dreams of flight? I just added something a little extra.

But this on the other hand, I found as distasteful as Drago's handling of the Nightmare. None of them clearly wanted to go through this, but their leader had other plans in mind. The remaining men, those Drago hadn't selected, appeared thankful not having to endure that fate. Thankfully, the screams and shouts soon ended, as each man finished their transfigurations. Where a man once stood now was a dragon of the type dragon called out, all of them still looked quite frightened of their leader.

"This is all I ask of you," Drago said firmly, surveying the new dragons, his grin so menacing that I could see it through the back of his head. "Aid the village and take back the skies, do you still understand that?"

The dragons all nodded, apparently still able to understand Norse. Several immediately took off, giving out calls and shouts that were practically indistinguishable from the ones real dragons gave. It wasn't long before the former men left us behind and went into the skies. Odin, I don't know if it was because they were brave… or just that scared of failing Drago. I mean, they were practically outnumbered maybe twenty to one, not a fun situation; I should know.

Drago turned back to the rest of us, those that hadn't been turned into dragons. Hopefully, the word "yet" was not part of that sentence . The man's expression was gaunt, a little paler than it had been a moment before. "We take back this village at any means possible," he said, still managing to sound intimidating.

Everyone nodded, including me, who really had no business in a fight without Toothless.

"But first," Drago said, his eyes focusing on me. He then put his hand on me and I immediately feared he might end up turning me into a dragon to go out and fight the other dragons. Sure, I was a dragon rider, but that didn't mean I knew the first thing about _being _a dragon. Hopefully, I'd end up being a Night Fury and not a Terrible Terror, though I guess when it comes to running and hiding, both had their perks. "We're taking you back home."

I blinked in stunned silence. "Uh- what?"

"You heard me," Drago said, his expression grim as he scanned into the village. "We'll get you to a shelter, you're not going to survive out here, in the open."

I could only stare at the man, unsure of what to really respond with. I had no idea what to make of Drago. Sure, the first thing this man did when I met him was pretty much crush a Nightmare's own will to live so utterly, but he did so to save my life. The next thing he did that really made me feel uneasy was turn his own men into dragons, but then he turns around and says his first action is to get me somewhere safe. Just who was this guy?

Eret was a little stunned as well. "Uh, sir…"

Drago frowned at the teenager holding me up. "You heard me," he insisted, pointing out the order for his men to march. "Now, go!"

Several of the men hesitated, but did was instructed. Eret turned to me, his expression uneasy. "Thor, what makes you so special?"

I grimaced, it wasn't every day someone "Well, I was born on a leap year, so I'm technically three and a half. Also, I'm left handed, plus a whole bunch of other things. But, no, I don't know what makes me so special." Aside from the fact I ended a war between Vikings and dragons, ride a Night Fury, and run a school despite being a little shy of fifteen, but there was no way Drago knew that.

Eret didn't find it particularly funny and instead he just grunted and carried me forward, into the fire.

**So, immediately, Hiccup sees Drago use his special gift. I decided against it originally, but I thought it'd make sense not to hold it off and use it at as soon as it was neccesary. So, I figure now was the right time.**


	5. Talking in a Burning Village

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**This chapter took way too long to write. Mostly, life just ended up in the way, but I managed to at least get the usual chapter out before I was too late. Anyways, please enjoy.**

There's used to be a saying in Berk, don't teach your kids to walk because then they'd be too slow to avoid the fire. It's an age old adage about the dangers about living in an area where dragons tended to fly over and especially raid the tons of. Now, since I'm not really the best Viking around, I only ever managed to learn _half _that lesson right. I've had _years _of experience running through a burning village but it seems I could never get the direction right, even when I'm not the one leading the way.

Eret and I were both sandwiched between two lines of five Vikings each with Drago forming the tip of the spearhead up front. The formation was simple and brutally effective when attacking all at once, with a variety of different weapons, from swords to axes, to spears and bows. The group bashed its way through formations of dragons as we ran into them, sending the smart ones retreating; I didn't want to think about the not so smart ones. Drago's force but otherwise tried its best not to draw any attention to themselves as we marched through Skullrock. Well, Drago and his men marched, I still shambled, needing Eret to even keep me moving.

Overhead, I could still see a small, tight formation of dragons above our heads, watching and circling around us and harrying any others that got to close. It still freaked me out that some random stranger I met had the power to turn men into dragons and had them defending. Maybe if I hadn't had the experience of well, running through a burning village nearly every month, I would be more alarmed, but my mind couldn't stop thinking on it. It seemed so unbelievable, almost dream like that I was even witnessing such a thing. Whoever this Drago was, he was seriously important, especially if he got this power from say, the gods or someone else. How anyone gets the power to turn into a dragon, I partially wanted to know… as long as it didn't require me being anything like Drago.

I don't know how long we spent going through the village, forcing our way through dragons and avoiding fireballs, but eventually Drago and his men ran into a skirmish between several of the local villagers and a mob of dragons all of various stripes. The combat was locked in a very even stalemate, both side taking casualties at about the same rate and I was sure that even the addition of a terrible fighter such as myself would have broken it. Unfortunately for them time was on the dragon's side as the daylight was starting to dim. Dragons had way better night senses than humans, especially since they always had the ability to turn anything into bonfires on demand.

"Stay here boys!" Drago ordered, turning to both Eret and me.

"Not a problem, I can't move anyways!" I cracked a joke, a terribly dry one at that. Maybe I just wanted to diffuse the situation and maybe not to see this guy as just someone who could flatten me if he wanted to and more someone who could flatten me and I could respect, but even I knew that didn't earn me any points with the man.

Instead, Drago just looked at me indifferently while Eret clearly did not look amused. "Just… stay out of our way." Then he turned to the dragons and raised his sword in his still mobile arm. The warriors by his side followed suit, drawing their weapons before charging the dragons.

The dragons were obviously surprised by the sudden addition of more warriors and several suffered major wounds in the first charge. A few were less than fortunate, dropping in the first volley. The dragons retaliated, blasting fire in every direction, but Drago and his men had them outflanked, reducing their counter attack's effectiveness.

"It's the Dragon Conqueror!" said one of the villagers, probably because Drago was very likely the kind of guy who most people would think about when they heard about some of the things I did. I mean, he really _did look like _the "Conquerer" part.

Even from this distance, I could see the wicked gleam the mad Viking had. "Call me what you'd like!" he then swiped his sword, cutting through a dragon's flesh before following up with a headbut. "Just so long as I can see the Chief after this mess!"

Several of the townspeople cheered at that announcement and with their morale restored fought the dragons with renewed vigor, turning the former stalemate into minced meat.

Meanwhile, while all that happened Eret dragged me over to the side of a building, hiding us behind some crates of building materials. We both took a seat down on the group, keeping our profiles low and hopefully unnoticable. "Were you trying to get him angry at you?"

"Says the guy who made us move from our spot," I pointed out dryly.

Eret didn't look amused, as always; I wasn't earning points with him either. "Look, Drago, he's not the kind of boss who takes too kindly of failures and bumblers, so you better watch you tone, or _I'd _get _it."_

"And I can perfectly see how that's supposed to make me behave," I said with a smile, much to his frustration. Then, I added, "Well, I do _need_ someone to carry me across town, so maybe…"

"_Good,"_ Eret said, his tone relieved.

Then, because I felt that maybe I should change up my tactics a little, I decided to do something I should have when we first met. "Say, thanks for the save back there; I would have been a goner if you hadn't shown up."

Eret gave himself a contented, pleased smirk. "Well, it's just what I do as a dragon trapper and all," he said with very false modesty. "Still not really all that experienced at it, but hey, I'm going to be the best in the family."

"Seems like you got it all figured out," I said. Hopefully, I could do one of two things. One, tap him for information about Drago, since I had no clue what to do about a guy like this. I had no idea what to even think. And two, earn some credit with Eret. He seemed like a nice kid and given that I was bound to see him for as long as I was bound to Drago, I didn't want him to be my enemy.

"Sure do!" he nodded. He was most likely better at trapping dragons than I ever was, though on occasion I still did that when I had to. I mean, sure dragons weren't actively raiding Berk, but that didn't mean we completely let our guard down when dealing with wild dragons.

Now that I got him interested in the conversation, I added a slight side track, one that hopefully paid out with a little information. "So, how's a trapper get involved with a guy like Dragon?"

Eret smirked, even more proud of himself"Well, Drago hired me and my Pa because we were the best at trapping."

I nodded, feeling that was as valid as a reason as any. None of the other men looked close to Eret, so I don't think any of them were related. "So, then how'd you run into me? Why's Drago even here?"

Eret simply shrugged. "We were trying to track down that dragon rider! Had to make landfall when the ship got torn up by that dragon rider and his dragons!"

"Dragon rider?" I said, thinking back to the lone figure who took out half my friends. That was a dangerous individual and I hoped Toothless could escape him and make his way back to me.

"Uhuh, he's been messing up Drago's operation for some time apparently!" Eret nodded. "Hate the guy, Dad and I lost so many good shipments because he melted the cages!"

"That's a shame," I said, my tone not matching up to my words. I mean, it was their livihood, but I didn't exactly feel much sympathy since I think letting them serve under Drago was pretty cruel. Eret didn't seem to notice.

"Yup and now he takes out the whole ship! All the men probably got scattered all over the island!" Eret rambled on. "Would love to bag him, be an excellent pay day!"

"I'll bet," I said. Before Eret could continue on a rant, I decided to continue asking the questions I need. "But why'd Drago come here? I mean, unless coming to this island was also a complete accident." In which case, I should as a priority as soon as I got home made buy a yak to sacrifice to Odin or Loki, whoever was the reason I survived.

Eret shrugged again and rolled his eyes. "Well, he _wanted _to sail to Skullrock for something, but I dunno, I just trap dragons for the guy. I don't k-"

Then, Eret jumped on me, taking us both to the ground, the larger boy right on top of me. Just before us, a trail of fire whizzy behind his head, setting the building's wall alight. Then as soon as it was over, Eret quickly drew himself to his feet and I started crawling away, just in time to see our assailant.

A dragon that looked like some weird mix between a Nadder and a rhinoceros lunged forward. It had small vestigial arms under its wings and a horn that took up a large portion of its skull. Its scales were deep blue freckled with little patches of yellow on the ridge of its back and its eyes shone like bright gold. I was sure that this dragon was something that was not something I had seen before and as a result, I had no idea what to make of it other than quick observations about its form. It glared at Eret and me, looking quite interested making a snack from the two of us.

The more capable and athletic dragon immediately drew a knife and face the creature. "Out of the way, Hiccup!" he shouted. I, to my credit, did not argue and crawled out of the way as fast as possible. It was awkward and my legs still hurt from my crash landing earlier, but the rush of panic that ran through my body dulled that pain.

Once I was far enough away to hide behind a set of barrels not too far off, I turned my back to the fight that I just left behind. Eret was good, not Astrid level good, but he was definitely better at the whole fighting thing than I was. He didn't have a shield to block the dragon's firebreath, but he still kept moving, ducking and darting away from the creature's attacks whenever it was sent at him. He lunged at the dragon, carving a deep gash into its hide.

Unfortunately, part of the reason why knives were not poplar weapons against large creatures was that they didn't cause enough damage to stop them from moving. The creature flicked its tail immediatelly as a counter, sending Eret to the floor right beside me. He was down and his weapon was out of his hands. Then, as if it was for good measure, the dragon kicked the small blade several paces away, far out of reach of the boy, looking at him menancingly.

Reacting out of equal parts fear and desire to help a fallen ally, I flung myself between the dragon and the fallen Viking boy. "Stop!" I cried out, raising a hand in the air.

"Hiccup?" Eret groaned, clutching his arm. There was a minor trail of blood dripping down over it, though I don't know how deep the cut was.

"I'm just returning a favor," I said, slightly nervous, before turning back at the dragon. All I had to do was figure out how to get me and my new friend away from the dragon, no pressure, right?

The dragon tilted its head at me, obviously a little perplexed, but far less hostile to me than he was to Eret. Which was great for me, all things considered. I just needed to get close.

I stood on my knee and the stump of my knee, giving myself some limited mobility. Then I went and approached the dragon, my hands down, but my stance conveying no aggression 0. I didn't want to scare it, nor did I want to appear scared in front of it. Either of those things would set it off, make it angry or frightened enough to retaliate, neither of them particularly helpful to me.

"Hiccup?" Eret questioned.

"Stand down," I told the boy. "I've got this." I slowly eased my way over to the dragon and it wasn't make any move other than bobbing its head back and forth like a chicken when it tried to get a better look. It slowly approached me, also curious about as to what we were doing. "There, there, I don't want to hurt you," I said gently, my hands almost close enough to touch its snout.

But unfortunately, I never would get to disarm it. The dragon suddenly thrashed and yelped in pain as a metal blade suddenly tore a canyon into its side. I may not have had any interest in harming dragons, but Drago certainly did. He shouted at the dragon a cry of challenge and it responded.

The dragon whirled around, its tail slapping me in the face for no other reason than because fear made it turn and face its attacker. It responded Drago's battlecry with one of its own, maybe a whimper or a cry of fear against a much more superior enemy. It tried to fly away, but Drago's initial attack damaged the left wing so severely.

While it was distracted, Drago, for good measure, crippled the dragon even more, slicing at its legs and other wings until it was immobilized. To say the battle was one sided was an understatement and before long Drago was giving orders to his men about where to put the bleeding dragon.

I was left bewildered about how fast it all happened. I had… I had practically disarmed an otherwise normal, if perhaps aggressive, dragon and allowed it to get captured. Sure, it was planning to kill and and another Viking boy, but I was just about to stop getting it from attacking us. I could have maybe got it to stop fighting us, maybe let it escape the battle unscatched. Now, I don't know what was going to happen to it, other than Drago would be the one deciding. Speaking about Eret, he approached me and picked us both up off the ground. "What was that all about?"

"Foolishness is what it was," Drago answered me.

"I was trying to get it to… stop fighting us." I sounded so unsure of myself. Sure, I could face dragons that other men would flinch at, but a man like Drago left me feeling a quiver in my lone boot.

"Bah!" Drago scoffed. "All dragons know is how to fight, to display their own dominance over everything, even each other! You can't stop that, you can't deny it, just exert your own dominance over them!" Then, Drago left us and approached the men. "We've still got a village to liberate; who's with me?" The men all burst into applause and cries of cheer as he asked that, brandishing their weapons and ready for the next fight. Even the wounded got up to join in in the defence of their own home town.

Honestly, I still had no idea what to make of the guy. Sure, Drago was brutal in his treatment toward dragons, but honestly, it's not really all that different from how some Vikings I knew used to be before the war ended. Dad came to mind and if it wasn't for facing certain doom and Toothless's loyalty for me, I was sure he would have done everything Drago had done and more. Drago was simply just another Viking man that lived in a world full of hostile dragons, albeit, one with the power to turn other people into dragons.


	6. Hiccup and Eret

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**This chapter is coming on Wednesday since I need to readjust my posting schedule after last week. Enjoy. **

"In here!" Drago pulled open the doors to the Skullrock's Great Hall, a place not too disimilar from the one back home. It was even carved into the mountain! Around him were dozens men armed to the teeth with ranged weapons of every description, all scanning the skies for any dragons that wanted trouble. Other men, maybe double their number, watched the ground, armed with spears and swords.

After the whole incident with the dragon that I failed to… train, Drago thought now would be a great time for Eret and me to take shelter. I didn't complain, I didn't want to see any more of the chaos that was brewing outside any more than I wanted to end up a dragon's lunch.

Eret carried me into the building. Then, Drago shut the door, leaving the two of us inside. Thankfully or maybe not-so-thankfully, we weren't alone; the inside of the building was packed full of people, most of them too young or too old to be much help in the battle that raged outside. All of them stared at two of us as Eret set me down at one of the tables.

The place might have been intended as a place of gathering and celebration with one's fellow Viking, but in times of conflict, the celebration part was taken off. The building, well, cavern, was easily defended against attacks from dragons and men alike, making it an ideal shelter. Yet, I know from experience that never meant one was safe from worry. There were no cheers, no smiles, no salutes, only looks of terror and fear as men, women, and children alike all cowered and prayed to the gods that the battle would be over soon. I can't say this wasn't a scene I hadn't seen before, or missed seeing.

Even Eret and I were nervous about the whole thing, both of us looking a little green with unease. I knew there at least five types of dragons that could go through the walls and if any one of them showed up, they could really threaten the security of this place.

"So… what was that all about back there?" asked the boy, his voice sounding not so confident without his leader nearby. "You almost did… something to that dragon."

I shrugged. "It's just a trick I picked up." It was honestly the truth, but without context, such as "I train dragons like they're dogs as a community project" that statement didn't really mean much to him, I imagine.

Eret threw himself onto the table and began checking his injuries. "Well, whatever you did, it made sure the only thing I got was a stiff arm, so thanks for that."

"No problem," I smiled at the other boy. I think I just made a new friend because of that, someone to confide in for however long I spend here trapped in this island. Drago was someone I was unsure of, but Eret I think was someone I could easily relate to.

Eret flexed his arm again, definitely trying to get the feeling back in it. He didn't so much as look at me, but he still asked me some questions. "So, how'd you do it?"

I blinked for a second. "Uh, what?"

"That dragon didn't attack you, just, well, stare, at you as you, well, crawled over to it. How's that work?" the boy asked. I noticed several of the other villagers took notice of our conversation, but Eret never noticed them. Boy, I was hoping that for once, no one would automatically know I was the so called mythical "Dragon Conquerer", especially since a better canditate was already on the island. That was going to be awkward.

"Oh, that, well." I didn't know how to explain it much either, at least not to someone who hasn't well, trained dragons before instead of trapping them. Dragons as far as I could tell lacked an actual language like Norse, but at the same time were very receptive to body language and tone of voice. Acting aggressively even in the slightest manner can set them off like those Roman candles I once got from Trader Johann. In short, it seemed very easy to say that acting and speaking calmly was all that was needed to not have to _fight _a dragon, yet for some reason actually saying it was harder than _doing it. _So I did what any sane person in my situation did and dodged the question, "Why you do you want to know?"

"Well, duh, to make myself a better trapper!" Eret slammed his fist into a table as if to make a point. "Any trick that'll let me catch dragons off guard like that would be A-OK in my book."

"That trick is not really meant to… fool dragons into anything," I said, keeping a straight face.

"But it can be used for it and that's what matters," Eret argued, holding up his index finger as if I was some child to be instructed. "So how'd you learn it?"

I just slumped my shoulders as down low as I could. Eret wasn't going to take "no" for an answer if I wanted to stay on his good side, especially after the hassle it took me there to get there. I guess he was better than Snotlout. So, I decided to give him the honest truth… after he did another favor for me. I pointed to pile of wooden poles, the remnants of burned spears. "Mind, getting me something to replace my leg, first?"

Then it was like Eret had suddenly transformed into a overly excited Smothering Smokebreath, not that on a day like this it would have surprised me if he actually changed before my eyes. He dashed off to the broken spear pile and went to fetch something hopefully useful. I took his momentary leave to actually figure out how I wanted to explain the whole thing for him. I was definitely going to explain to him a few things, such as the fact I wasn't a local.

When Eret finally returned, I had spent a good five minutes thinking on how I wanted to break it to him. He tossed me a few short stumps, just about the size I needed to make a basic peg leg. "So, you going to tell me or what?"

I nodded. "I'll give you a hint first, it has to do with this ridiculous get up I wore." I took off my partially burned and torn up flight suit. No one really commented on it, but I imagine that it made me look like a village idiot without any context about what it was for. It was times like these, I wish I had taken up my Dad's suggestion to make armor, but now was not the time for those regrets. I pulled out a knife and cut several of the damaged strings. Without Toothless and in its current condition, the suit wasn't as useful to me as a suit, but that didn't mean it had no use as materials.

"I just thought it was a weird fashion thing." He shrugged.

"Well, I guess it is." Some of the older riders, those more afraid of falling than the any of my friends were have started getting their own flight suits for when they went dragon riding, so, he was correct, now that I thought about it. "But that's not what I meant."

Eret raised an eyebrow. "Then, what's it for?"

I lowered my voice and approached other boy, whispering in his ear. "I… ride dragons." Technically, a dragon, but that's not exactly important

Eret backed away at me like I was delusional. "That's crazy talk."

"Well, it's not like I use magic or anything." I didn't add the part about Drago and his ability to turn people into dragons, but I think the boy was smart enough to figure it out for himself.

Eret shook his head, almost like I slapped him with a raw halibut. "How's anyone supposed" He took a glance around the Great Hall, looking for prying ears and eyes. So far, nothing. He then whispered in my ears. "Ride dragons."

"By training them."

"You mean like Drago."

I shook my head. "Not like Drago. I… befriend them."

Eret looked at me like I said something that defied his understanding. I mean, how could I not? How was this little overly skiny boy who is missing a leg supposed to befriend and ride dragons. That was like claiming there's a place where Vikings keep dragons as pets and kids ride them on to adventures on a near weekly basis. Good thing, no such places exist.

"Like the man who leads the dragon?" he asked nervously.

"I don't know much about him, so I don't know." I sighed. I forgot about the other person the boy could compare me to, but hopefully that didn't make things harder. So, I did what I usually did in this situation and took a crack at my own expense. "I bet you must think I'm insane."

"No…" Eret sounded unsure of himself saying that, leaving him wide open for a rebutal.

I took advantage of his gesture of politeness and twisting it back on itself like a Typhoomerang that chased its own tail. "Good, then that means you believe me."

"I didn't say that."

"So that means you think I'm crazy?"

Eret slapped himself when he realized I had gotten him caught in a verbal trap, a little prison where he either admitted he didn't think I was worth listening to or admitted that I was, no matter how insane I sounded. I'll admit to enjoying abusing a new friend's politeness much more than I should, but Eret was a _friend_ now; that came with certain privileges I could use and abuse. "You are _pure evil." _

I smiled back. "Guilty as charged. So, you willing to listen to me?"

Eret, having been forced in a corn could only grumpily nod. "I've got nothing better to do."

"Well, let's just start with the basics then. I train and ride dragons. My best friend is a dragon, my other friends have their own dragons, and even my own Dad had a dragon once is currently looking for a new one." Eret could only stare at me blankly, like I described some fictitious fantasy place from a story that comes from an overly depressed drunkard or obsessive statistician.

I told him that I wasn't from around Skrullrock and it was only because of mistaken identity and the fact I was scared of what Drago would do if he thought I was an interloper that I never told them earlier. I told him that my home land, Berk was a place that used to be quite like any other Viking settlement, always constantly raided by dragons, up until some lunatic of a boy decided to go and slay what a dragon fit for an epic. But most of all, I told Eret about Toothless, about how he was the best thing that ever happened to me, about how my friendship with a dragon that changed everything.

With every word I spoke, I caused his jaw to sag further and further to the floor. Everything I said seemed so fantastic, so unreal, yet I doubted he believed I was lying or misleading him about anything. I was sure if I went on any further, I would would need to invent a new tool just to get his mouth off the ground.

Fortunately for me, Eret was able to pick up his own jaws and bring it back in alignment. "I only wanted to know to stop dragons from attacking me, not learn your entire life's story," he said, still looking awestruck.

"Well, if you want to avoid a fight, don't go trying to pick one." I shrugged. Maybe it sounded so obvious to me because I was the one who discovered it, but really, I'm surprised I'm the first person in Viking history to not go all out trying to fight a dragon. "They're not that bad, once you get to know them."

"Maybe." Eret shook his head. "But I'm a trapper and we hunt dragons for a living."

"Yet you work for a man who turns people into dragons."

Eret shrugged. "It puts bread on the table." He then ducked to the side and then turned to look behind me. Turning around, I saw that what he saw was important.

Before we could discuss the matter of training versus trapping further, the door to the Great Hall was being pushed open. Viking warriors, all of them wounded and burned from the fires of battle poured forth. At the head of them were two men, Drago and a man who definately seemed important, probably the Skullrock Chief.

None of the warriors nor their leaders looked at all distressed, in fact, I could hear the laughing and joke making that several of the men did with each other. The villagers who had previous spent the past few, well, I don't know how long it's been, moping about turned to greet the newcomers all with looks of bewilderment.

"Our village is safe!" declared the man next to Drago. He lifted up a big glaive above his head like he wanted to raise things up to the heavens. He then pointed out to Drago. "And it is thanks you our new allies and friends, your new heroes!" The villagers all burst out into cries of excitement, their worry and fear gone in an instant.

Drago lifted up his, his grin almost manic. He and he men clearly enjoyed being proclaimed heroes and I had to admit, they did deserve it. Drago's methods might have been ruthless as far as dragons were concerned, but hey, it's not much different from what normal Vikings did; I knew _I _wasn't normal, not by any definition of Viking except any of Fishlegs's "revised definitions".

"Well, good thing we came when we did!" Drago grabbed the Chief in his arms, like the two of them suddenly became best of friends during the battle; which honestly is par for the course, I mean, fighting is I ended up making friends with most everyone that wasn't Fishlegs and Toothless. "Would have never come if you never asked!"

The warriors and villagers all dispersed into the Great Hall, mingling with one another, sharing stories about the battle that they just live through. No one was really sad about anything, after all, it was a day of victory. Even the Chief wasn't immune. "Indeed!" the Skullrock Chief burst out laughing as he stepped forward into the hall. "Twenty messages requesting aid dealing with our problem, and only one man shows up…" I didn't catch everything that the men said to each other, but I think I began to understand why Drago was here.

Odin only knew how much different this whole situation would have been if there was no battle for Drago to capitalize on or no strange dragon rider to stop my friends. Now, I just think revealing who I was might put a bad taste in plenty of people's mouths. There was certainly a chance that if that happened, well, Drago wouldn't like Toothless. Maybe it was _still _ a good thing he was lost in the woods and away from this man. He might have been a hero, but I still don't think he likes dragons.

"Hey, who are you boys?"

I blinked out of my thoughts for second to see that the Skullrock Chief and Drago had approached Eret and me. Drago pointed at Eret first. "Well, this is my newest charge. Boy's still got a lot to learn before he can pull his weight." The trapper in training proudly puffed up his chest at being introduced, just to make him seem a little more impressive than he actually was. "As for this one… isn't he one of yours?"

The Skullrock Chief shook his head. "No, I don't think so." And now I realize I should have

Suddenly, the excitement and cheer drained Drago's expression and for a moment I thought he was about to gut me with his sword. Which to be fair, was a justified reaction to someone who might well be a tresspasser. "Wait, stop!" Eret jumped between the two of us, buying me precious time to make my move. "He's not a threat!"

"Is he now?"

"Of course I am, I can totally level the whole village with my incredible physique and my raw prowess," I cracked. I then presented the Chief of Skullrock the letter he had sent me. "I was invited here, too, but me and my friends ended up getting caught in the attack!" I quickly prayed to Odin, Freya, and even _Loki _that showing this letter was all I needed to ensure I didn't end up getting hanged.

Drago and the Chief book scanned the letter, both of their expressions not exactly making me feel any better about showing the letter. The Chief could only say a single question, one which to be fair I got asked quite a bit more than I'd like. "You're the Dragon Conquerer."

Drago then added, "Pity, I quite liked that title."

"You can have it if you want!" I assured him.

The man nodded. He took his hand off his sword's grip and then went to look at me inquisitively. "Now this makes things...interesting."


	7. A Night to Remember

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**Seems I've gotten into the habit of posting up on Wednesday. Well, I suppose it's fine if it give you guys consistent content. Anyways, this chapter was thought up and written all last night. **

**Enjoy and if you like this please leave a comment telling me what you think.**

I awoke feeling rather dull, the normal shock that jolted me into consciousness did not happen. Normally, I would have expected either Dad or maybe Toothless to go slam into me and force me out of the bed. Today, I was strangely without either my father or my dragon. I rolled myself out of the bed, my eyes adjusting to the harshlight that swept inside the room. Dawn had arrived and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't go back to bed.

Strange, this wasn't my house. Why was I here? There was also this sharp pang of hunger, like I haven't exactly had a good dinner or maybe never received one at all. Strangely, I had all these bumps and bruises everywhere, injuries from falling, I think. Just what happened last night? And where did my flight suit or my tunic go for that matter? Did the twins abduct me from my house and undress me before bed _again_?

As I got off from the bed, I abruptly fell to the floor. I checked my leg, noticing something very important was missing. The mechanical replacement Gobber made for me was no longer there… in fact, the temporary replacement I made last night...

Then, dim awareness started to fill my mind, yesterday's events came flooding back in to my mind.

I remember meeting that strange Viking, Drago and his merry band of part-time dragon killing warriors and part-time _dragons_. I remember arriving in Skullrock, burned and ravaged by dragonfire fire. I remember the masked rider, a figure who was practically better than me in the one thing I could truely say was my own. Most of all, I remembered not know what happened to my friends, the fact that even now, I still don't know what happened to any of them.

I gulped. Toothless and Astrid, they were stronger than me that was for sure, but strength wasn't everything. The rest of my friends were important too, but they weren't nearly as critical as my girlfriend and my dragon. All I could do was hope that the gods did not consider opening their halls for them.

At this time, I heard a knocking on the door and very familiar pair came into the light filled room. Drago and Eret walked inside, their faces no longer sullied by the scalding blaze of yesterday. Yet, despite the morning sun managing to poke its way into the room, there was the faint feeling of awkwardness in the air, like something odd happened.

"You're awake," barked the older man, his tone gruff. He picked me up off the floor and deposited me on the bed.

Eret smiled, but it was a pained expression, like he was trying to not tell his father he burned down some furniture; I should know what that's like. "How was… sleep?" he said, probably hoping I was still a little too groggy to pay attention.

Well, I wasn't to groggy to pay attention, instead, I was too groggy to _care_. I grabbed onto my arm and tried to flex it in an attempt to remove the dull aches I got last night. "Fine, fine, a little bruised, but I'm fine. How about you?"

Eret still looked at me like he was a little unsure of me. "Oh, yeah, I'm good… I was just wondering how you were feeling."

Drago rolled his eyes. "Can we please just get to the topic at hand boy? There is no sense in beating around the bush."

Eret backed away, looking a little nervous. He shook his head. "I know, but well, he just woke up. I mean, we don't know if there's any side effects!"

I raised my eyebrows at that. Did something… else happen last night? "Uh, what side effects?"

Drago looked like he heard this time a thousand times before.

Eret's cringe grew steeper, unsure of how to take my statement. "So, you really don't remember?"

I shrugged. "Remember what?" Okay, now there was something I was sure I was missing out. Why exactly movie

"Don't bother, boy, it shouldn't concern you, now that the Chieftain is convinced you are on our side." Drago might have meant it to be comforting, but I felt uneasy about being on the same "side" as him. I mean, this guy bullies _Nightmares _into submission with only his cloak and cowl.

"Gee, is being cryptic and vague something all adults do? " Well, at least, my sense of sarcasm was inact… or maybe it was being faulty. Drago was not someone I was sure could take sarcasm well.

Fortunately, it seemed Drago felt the only thing needed of me was to glare at me menacingly. It met his eyes boldly. Sure, it was frightening, but after facing down Dagur and the Red Death glares like his weren't on my top ten. "Don't test me boy, it is only because of me, you're not getting hanged!"

That on the other hand did cause me to back away. Drago… apparently cared about what happened to me… even though I had no idea for what reason or what he actually meant.

"Since you appear to be fine, then there's no point in staying here." The large man turned out and headed out the door, apparently done with me.

Eret went to go out after him, but I managed to call him back. "Hey wait, Eret!" I called. Eret stopped just as he was about to cross the threshold. "Mind staying for a bit?"

The larger boy turned to his boss, wordlessly asking for approval. He got it with an annoyed nod. "Fine, you know where I will be."

Eret nodded at the large man and then went over to me. "I guess you still need me to carry you," he said gloomily. "Why couldn't you just move on your own."

"Because my leg got burned off by a dragon… and because I want to know what happened last night."

Eret looked uneasy at my request, although part of that seemed to have been annoyance as much as fear. "Odin, why can't anyone remember what happens their first time?"

"First time? What are you talking about?"

Eret shook his head. "Are you sure you really want to know?"

"Well, I'm bruised all over and I have no idea how I got here, that sounds like something people shouldn't tell me about!"

Eret sighed, knowing by now I was not going to let this go. "Alright, alright, but don't say I didn't warn you!"

I shrugged. "Hey, if what I want is an earth shattering revelation I want, I think you owe me one!"

Eret shook his head in defeat. "Fine, Drago turned you into a Night Fury."

There was a silence longer than I thought possible, the sentence barely registering in my head until I had to ask Eret to repeat himself. "Uh, what?"

Eret groaned. "Drago turned you into a Night Fury in front of the whole village!" That time, it finally clicked in my mind.

"Uh when did this happen?" Dimmly, I reached over behind my head, thinking I was going to check on an ache at the nape of my back. Instead, though I found something more troubling than mere bruisies. I found a scrape marks that felt vaguely mouths shaped at the rear of my neck and only on the rear. Which was strange because last night every dragon I met last night was big enough to just outright bit off my head and the fact that the bite seemed to be facing the wrong direction. Come to think of it, I think I also felt scratches on my back, like something was trying to claw at me from behind.

"Last night, right after you, well gave Drago you title, you introduced yourself as a_ dragon rider._" Eret's eyes shifted onto a nearby window, looking outside at a reconstructing town. Outside people were doing what they could to get their lives into working order, starting with basic reconstruction. "I'll admit, I thought it was kinda cool when you said you rode a dragon into battle, but you tell that to a whole village!"

Vaguely, I began to recall last night's events, starting with my introduction. It was as Eret said. I spoke the truth about what I was, what my job at Berk was… and about bringing Vikings and dragons to some sort of coexistence. Maybe if I came over with a Night Fury for a mount and heroically repelled waves for dragons in the air, things would have been different, but I didn't exactly have a popular stance, especially since it was common knowledge that another dragon rider started the attack. I think there was even talk about lynching! "Yeah, maybe not the smartest thing I ever said."

"No kidding!" Eret then lifted me over his shoulder. "After that, well, Drago stood up for you."

Now that explained Drago's statement earlier about him protecting protecting me from being hanged. Still, I couldn't believe he'd do that, not for a complete stranger. "Really? Why'd he do it?"

Eret shrugged, apparently not knowing either. "He said you were no threat, though he did call you a 'misguided youth' because you were all for dragons, apparently."

"Yup, that sounds about right!" I laughed as I got off the bed as Eret pulled me upwards. Once again I was hoping awkwardly on one leg. Slowly, but surely, we were making our way to the door.

"Anyways, Chief Slammaface wasn't convinced at first, but eventually, Drago talked him down."

"Which is good for me, but how's it involve turning me in a Night Fury?" It also seemed pretty ironic I turned into the same kind of dragon Toothless was, but maybe Drago picked what I turned into… assuming he could do that.

Eret seemed so hesitant about talking about Drago's odd ability to turn men into dragons and back again. The boy shook his head warily and then began to speak, "Well, people did see us back when Dragon transfigured half the party into dragons and when Drago had to undo the spell he put on them after the battle was won; the Chief thought it was interesting since the idea of giving some of his own men the ability to fly was that big of an advantage, so he wanted demonstration…"

I rolled my eyes, suddenly realizing where this was going. "And he picked me."

"Well, Drago was hesitant about it at first, but on the other hand, you volunteered I think because it was an easy way to establish yourself as working with us… despite the fact that we both pretty much warned you that was a bad idea."

"Uh, yeah, that never stopped me from trying things out." We crossed the door's threshold and Eret shut the building behind us. "So what went wrong?"

Eret shook his head and continued leading us out into the street. There, a dozen people took a moment to gasp in surprise, pointing at me like I had some sort of illness. Well, I'll be honest, I sure felt like I did. Still, even in public Eret continued to speak about what happend last night, though he was down to a whisper."You were kinda unprepared for Drago's spell and that kinda made you go… feral."

"Feral?" Sure, I got that the word 'feral' meant being wild, but in the context, I think I disliked what that actually meant.

"Last night, you were a dragon, no a boy, Hiccup. When Drago turns you, you don't just become a human trapped in a dragon body..."

"You become a dragon…" I completed for him, though that was only because I was able to predict what he was saying. I still didn't really get what he _meant _by all of that.

"Well, you were a scared dragon in a room full of Vikings, you tell me what happened!"

I cringed. Faintly, I could recall a little bit of what happened last night, like it was all some sort of vague dream. I was a dragon running around the room in a desperate attempt to escape. I was trapped inside the Great Hall and I couldn't even think clearly because of the overwhelming fear that sent me into the core. It was only when another dragon intervened and wrestled me to the ground that I finally stopped. "Why'd I do that?"

Eret shook his head, apparently not liking giving the explanation. "I dunno, man. It's just how it works. You don't see the world any more like you used to and instead you start thinking of things as how dragons see it. Plus, you lose everything about you that relates to your 'humanity'. You don't just stop being able to speak Norse, you lose the ability to even read or understand it!"

"But those men seemed to know Norse last night."

"Only because they've been training for months to do that! Now they're at the same level as these dogs a neighbor of mine once hand!" Eret shook his head. "Point When Drago turns you, almost everything has to go. When you look at houses and ships, you don't see houses and ships, you see odd trees..."

Now I began to understand why everyone seemed to hesitant about turning into dragons last night. It wasn't just giving up their bodies for a few hours, it was about giving up their very identities with the very real chance they weren't going to get it back if Drago felt he wanted dragons more.

It was strange to think about. In the stories I've heard about people changing form, people just didn't stop being, well, people. They were still who they were, just in different shape than what they were before. The idea that dawning on a different form and that that form came with a completely different mindset and train of thought rattled me. If Drago wanted, he could turn me into a Night Fury and then, there'd be no more Hiccup, just a Night Fury.

Then, I heard a faint crunching sound that I thought for a second was bone shattering, making me feel a little self conscious about my neck. Maybe it was because I dimly recalled how last night another dragon was clinging to my side. I tried cover as much of my neck as I could with my chin before turning to the source of the noise.

Drago Bludvist, the _real _Dragon Conquer, a man who was capable of wrestling with dragons and unflinchingly walking into dragonfire was doing something that seemed so surreal for a man of his stature. He picked up an apple from a table and handed a store vender a some silver. "Thank you for the free sample," he said and began crunching on the apple.

The shopkeeper exchanged a smile with the darker man. "No problem!"

I don't know what was more unbelievable, the fact that I turned into a Night Fury last night and don't remember it or the fact that Drago Bludvist was not above shopping for his own food. I mean, Dad often was, but then again that might have been because of his overly busy schedule. Then again, maybe I should also add in surprise to the fact that Drago's crunching of the apple was unnerving me almost as much as turning into a dragon.

Drago turned to me and Eret as we approached, giving us a look like we were late for an appointment. "Now, the Chief has important business for us, now that we no longer have to worry about tending to the wounded. I expect a great deal more from the two of you than tardiness"

Eret gave a salute. "Uh, sure boss!"

I nodded as well, thankful that Drago was at least marginally on my side. Definately not a good idea to make him angry since it was his favor on me several times over that kept me from meeting Odin early.

The man crunched his apply again and I wanted to duck my head. The man then pointed at me, noticing how I flinched. "Impressive, so you do remember?" He pointed at me… or rather he pointed to my neck.

Suddenly, one final image from last night's events filtered into my thoughts. Drago leapt on top of me, his teeth barring down on my neck and his only arm scraping at my back. His form was familiar, one that I had only seen from a single creature only once in my life; I wasn't the only one who changed into a Night Fury last night.

**I thought it was an interesting way to make both a transition and to show off a side effect of transfiguration without actually displaying it and as well play on the fact that the reader would be in the same confused state as Hiccup is right now after a transition like this. It's strange how little people in the fandom consider the possibility becoming a dragon would mean more than just giving up body. **


	8. On the Nature of Dragons

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**We're about to get into the meat of the story. You'll probably be a little surprised by the chapter's contents.**

**Also, to any one who is wondering where everyone else is, well, we're about to start finding people again.**

I hobbled behind Eret and Drago, thankful that I could at least walk on my good foot. The two were busy chatting about the young boy's "progress" as well as things like "fees". Apparently, Eret was being paid for setting up traps as well as maintaining the equipment used to hold the dragons after capture with each successful snaring worth a small sum, not much but certianly something that sounded like a fair price, especially since the boy really didn't end up fighting all that much. His role was primarily handling the dragons and getting them into what the man called a "useful" position.

Listening to them was the only thing I could do between trying to get the new feel of my new leg. The wooden shaft was thick and durable, but oh so lacking in much needed flexibility as well as comfort. I was thankful I didn't need Eret's support for too long, but I so wish that the vendor had something more mechanical in his store. Earlier, Drago bought me the replacement pegleg and let me strapped it onto my thigh. It wasn't the most elegant solution to my handicap, but it was the only one that only took me five minutes. Maybe once I got home, if I ever got home, I could think about making a better replacement, preferably one with springs to allow for a little more flexibility, but for now I was stuck with the cumbersome thing.

Speaking of which, if I ever got home, I was going to have to figure out how to explain this little adventure to Dad. Oh, I'm sure he's probably not going to be worried about the fact I had a crash landing, lost my leg, _lost Toothless, _and nearly got mauled by a dragon, but that stuff happened often enough for him to wonder if anything was different from usual. Telling my Dad about Drago Bludvist, a man who can also turn people into dragons, was not something I could downplay.

Especially since I had no idea why he bothered helping me. Well, there was no better time to ask. "...And then the that three headed one with four eyes is by the port, but I've told the men to get-" Eret was in the middle of recounting some of the dragons that were apprehended while I was… indisposed last night, but I interrupted him with a cough. "Uh, you need something, Hiccup?

Eret and Drago both turned to me, though only my new friend didn't seem to mind. "Yes, what's so important that it can't wait?"

Maybe I was feeling a little bold after all of the confusion and dull aches from last night, but that might have but been my growing annoyance at my pegleg. "Wh-why are you helping me?"

Drago snorted. "Isn't it obvious?"

"If it was, why would I bother asking?"

Eret quietly shut his mouth and gave me a worried look. He drew his index finger over his throat, making a slashing gesture. Clearly he was afraid Drago wouldn't like being challenged.

To be fair to the boy, Drago did look a little annoyed. "Hmph, so was I mistaken in assuming you actually knew what you were doing?"

Now that was an impressive insult. So, I had to admit I was smart enough to figure things out, in which case, I shouldn't have bothered wasting his time… or I was a moron. An normal Viking with even a modicum of pride wouldn't admit to either. Thing was, I didn't value my own pride all that much. "I actually don't know what I'm doing, so if you don't mind telling me what I _should _be doing, I really appreciate like it."

Drago gave himself a little smirk as if he was a little pleased with that little stunt, though I couldn't imagine why. I guess my own insistence to humiliate myself saved him the trouble. "Hmph, so you're really that naive are you?"

I pretend to think about that for a moment; I already knew the answer to this question. "Yeah, I'd think so."

Eret was quietly having mild panic attacks, probably because he was worried something terrible between the two of us would happen. Unlike him though, I knew perfectly well how safe I was. Drago had been going out of his way to keep my safe and even after the truth about me was out.

The man could only keep smiling in satisfaction. He took another bite of his apple and stepped closer to me. "I'll admit to this," he said in a low, gruff voice. "It'd be a real shame to see you go because you were so trusting of our enemies."

"Dragons are not all our enemies." I replied.

Just then, we stopped walking right then and there, the air suddenly charged with an a quiet, muted anger. I think I might have said my statement a little too loudly since several villagers turned to look at us, all of them giving me judgemental looks. Yeah, I am not winning any popularity contests here.

Drago glared at me, clearly not liking my choice of words. "We all heard about your little… domestication of the beasties from my young trapper here…" Eret slowly sunk behind the corner and out of my veiw.

"Well, I wouldn't say domestication, but they live among us, _in peace_." Yes, like half the Vikings more or less kept dragons as pets, most dragons just… did whatever they wanted in the village. If anything, many, especially the smaller ones, became residents of Berk, but didn't belong to anyone. They were still wild, just not outright attacking the village en mass and were more often allowed to stay nearby as a result.

Drago nodded, as if understanding. "Coulda fooled me, thought you were going to turn dragons into dogs.

"They're more cats if anything. I don't control them, no one does; we all get along just fine."

Drago shook his head in clear disapproval. "You're wrong, _you_ rule over them."

That shut me up. I only stared at Drago, trying to puzzle out what he meant.

He responded, knowing that I had my head still swimming with questions. "Tell me, what do you know of dragons?"

"Well, a little... Like their diet, a little of their bodies work, like how they breathe…"

"But what about their minds, their thoughts? Do you know how they prioritize things? Do you know how they maintain social unity? How they organize themselves into flocks?"

I… didn't. At least, not on the level that Drago seemed to present himself as having. Fishlegs probably could answer these questions with some degree of surety, but Fishlegs could be dead for all I know.

"Do you even know how how or even why the great wyrms, the largest dragonkin have to offer, hold so much sway over thousands of dragons so much smaller than them?"

I shook my head in defeat.

Drago sighed, as if disappointed in me. "So, you don't know anything after all."

I nodded, feeling a little ashamed myself. What little pride I had was more or less linked to my understanding and knowledge of dragons and how I can use that knowledge to better everyone's lives. While, most of the time, I'm more than willing to learn and take information from someone else, with Drago, I couldn't help but feel more inadequate than I usually was. Drago clearly ran circles around me in the dragon knowledge department if he was even pulling questions like that. I had very little reason to doubt he was just giving them to me to discredit me either; after all, most Vikings didn't really know or even believe in the Red Death. Drago sure sounded like he knew about it than I did.

"Then listen to me boy, for I'll only say this to you once. The only reason your island is so peaceful and idyllic is because you offed the one in charge." Drago said harshly. There was definitely a group of villagers gathering around us, all curious to see the verbal thrashing I was about to go through. "The dragons only followed you because you were the strongest, not because of anything else."

"I don't see how that's possible." I pointed at the center of my chest. "Look at me, my name's not exactly Beefcake Bagofpipes!"

"Eret says you've got yourself a Night Fury and used it to fell one of the great wyrms." Drago explain. Eret who was just about to poke his head out of the corner ducked behind at the mention of his name. Yeah, my friend clearly didn't want to be the center attention for his boss. "That dragon beat the great wyrm and took over. Because it follows you, by proxy, all the other dragons follow you. If someone else took you down, they'll follow your killer."

"To fair, Vikings are that way too…" Dad and Gobber have more or less warned me about the dangers of being the Chief's son. Once I get old enough, people will be constantly challenging me for the right to rule Berk. I think the logic was that the victor would be the better protector for the Tribe, but really, I think it just proves who was luckier that day.

"Maybe," Drago admitted with a shrug, "but Vikings have loyalty and dedication to ideals. Dragons don't; they follow whoever is stronger for as long as their conqueror isn't defeated by someone else."

"That's not true!" I said abruptly. I didn't know what came over me, but I think I was upset at what Drago was implying. Toothless and I were friends, weren't we? I didn't rule over him, did I?

Drago looked me squarely in the eyes and I felt a sense of dread that I couldn't fully explain. "Tell me boy about that Night Fury you got yourself, what did you do to break its will? Did you know Night Furies are prideful, arrogant dragons that are so rarely chained to any one place? What did you do you do to yours?"

I sliced off its tail and locked it in a canyon for a month. It fed it and then rigged up a contraption to get it flying again… but only when I was on it. Then, when I finally decided to make it a device to let it fly without me, it refused to go without me.

I turned away from Drago, not liking what I was thinking about. I liked to think Toothless was my friend, my companion, but what Drago said put everything in a much darker context. Toothless might not really be my friend and that bothered me. Were any of the other dragons really our friends?

The other dragons, from Stormfly all the way to Barf and Belch, were all in chains and slated to be nothing more than blood spatters until I got them out because my friends needed them. They've stuck with my friends since, but was that only because we've bound them up for so long they forgot to desire their own freedom?

Drago knew he had me thinking on his terms and his ideas. To capitalize on it, he left me with these chilling words, "I know more about dragons than any Viking on this globe alive. Dragons do not know of love or compassion, because if they did, they wouldn't be so careless about leaving their young to fend for themselves. No, they only know of power and how to respect greater forces than them. The only thing keeping your little village save is that you've enslaved a powerful dragon and elevated it to a position of power. Stop being so naive and lying to yourself about how things really work."

He then got up and turned away because there was no doubt he won the argument, if it could be called that. The crowd slowly dispersed, chattering to themselves as Draco shoved himself through the amassed throng. Eret followed his leader and I followed just a bit after, knowing full well I lost.

Is much as I wanted to, I just couldn't dismiss him or say or even that he was the one who was wrong. Unlike my Dad who was mostly just in the moment anger and was convinced by a simple demonstration, Drago definitely had me beat. He knew so much about dragons, about things I never even begun to dream about and squashed my own lack of knowledge so thoroughly, I just myself thinking that maybe I was just a naive kid who really shouldn't be playing with fire.

In fact, now that I think about it, lots of things about Drago made sense. He knew about dragons so much because he likely spent some time as one himself. The closest I ever been to truly understanding dragons was when I ride one and even then, I'm just borrowing the wings. He turned men into dragons not just because he saw the advantages of flight and built in weaponry, but also because he trusted humans, even humans who were in dragon form, more than actual dragons who he prefered to keep detained. He wasn't a hypocrite nor was he misguided, that was for sure.

If anything, I was the one in denial. I had loved to think Toothless and I were friends, but if what Drago had said was true, then he was in actuality my slave. It's scary to think that I had broken Toothless in so much he isn't willing to separate with me even when given the choice. Toothless should have accepted that mechanical tailfin, not shatter it against a rock! I just wish things weren't that way, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew Drago had a point. Toothless and I, we weren't- I didn't want to think about it; I didn't want to accept it.

In fact, I was willing to go the extra mile and deny it even further. I'm not a moral paragon full of virtue. Odin isn't and he's the top god because of it. So maybe Toothless and I got off on the wrong foot, I might have I ensnared him and made him so dependant on me, to the point he has chosen to permanently relegate himself to a lesser status. I wasn't just going to let him be my slave, not by a long shot. If I could, I want him to know that I didn't think of him a slave or even a servant or pet; ee was my friend and companion and I was going to make sure he knew that the next time he saw me. Even if, no _especially, _if it meant doing something crazy.

"Drago," I spoke up. "I want to know something."

The man turned his head around, a vicious smile on his face.

"I want to know how to turn myself into a Night Fury."

Eret frowned. "Uh, Hiccup, that might not be a smart idea. You kinda went crazy last night!"

Drago though kept smiling in a way that made me feel like my gut was sinking to below my knees. "Nonsense, the first time is the worst. The second should be more managable. But, before I even _think _about letting you know this trick, tell me why should I let you know it?"

"Because I want to find my friend… and to really know for myself what he thinks of me."

My request might have sounded a little silly, if not even more misguided than my reasons before were, but Drago seemed to consider my words seriously, like he was weighting to pros and cons on an imaginary scale. Then, he stopped abruptly in front of a run down house that was half burned down. "Ask me again after we meet with Chief Slammaface, we've got important business with him." He then opened the door and stepped inside the building.

"I really you know what you're doing, Hiccup!" Eret said. "Last guy who asked Drago about this never changed back!"

I nodded. "So do I!" I opened the door and stepped inside.

The only way I can truly know for sure if Toothless and I were really friends was to ask him myself. I didn't know how well talking to or understanding a dragon's calls was going to work out, but this was my only hope to truly understand him.

Plus, if I could fly, maybe I would have an easier time when trying to find them. Besides, even if I could easily understand a dragon's thoughts, I couldn't really use it without any of my friends _that were dragons_.

I just hope that if I did manage to turn, I didn't completely lose my mind.

**Most probably would take this scenario to make Drago a straw man and say Hiccup is in the right. Well, I chose to go a little on the opposite side. Drago, especially in comparison to a young Hiccup, knows far more about dragons and thus his opinion and beliefs are slightly more valid because of it. Or a tleast, as far as the characters know, Drago seems to know more.**


	9. Some Perspective

**Disclaimer: ** **Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon ** **franchise.**

**For those of you who follow my other story, I'm sorry to say I need to take a short break on it. The next story arc is perhaps something I need more thought to put in.**

**Meanwhile, enjoy this chapter for Theft of Fire. It's a major one.**

As we entered, the Chief was in this conversation with his advisors over the status of the village, such as casualty reports, property damage claims, the sort of thing that took my Dad hours, even days to do back when dragons used to invade Berk. "...after that, I want Ol' Toothy Grin to move provisions to the south side to make up for the fact everyone one there lost all their food. Now that that's taken care of, we have guests." Then, instead of if turning to more important people like Drago, Eret, or the serving girl who poured mead into his mug, he turned to look at me, his glare almost piercing.

If my life was a Saga written for little kids about my adventures through the Barbaric Archipelago, meeting new and interesting dragons and standing face to face with Viking heroes and dastardly villains, they would say my second meeting with the Skullrock Chief was a violent affair caused by the enmity of me being aw and dragon rider. It would have involved me pulling out a sword to do battle with a man probably a half a dozen times my size, swordsmanship techniques with fanciful names that never really existed, and hammerhead yaks. Well, I'll honestly say that as fun as that sounded, the reality was a little more… mundane. Besides, I didn't exactly have a weapon anymore; mine was kind of stolen.

The Skullrock Chief only bothered to stare at me for a split as if to make sure I wasn't going to set fire to his house, then he turned to Drago and his expression much more relaxed. He extended his hand to the darker man. "Welcome to my home, I trust your stay last night was to your liking."

Drago grabbed hold of the other man's hand and they both shook hands. The dark haired man flashed the Chief a wide smile. "Indeed. Nothing like a good night's rest to liven a man after battle."

"Come, we have much to talk about." The Skullrock Chief gestured for Drago to sit at a vacant chair and the dark haired man did so. Eret and I moved right behind him, since there wasn't any available spot elsewhere.

Chief Slammaface then took a uncomfortable glance at me and I immediately knew what the topic would be about. Sure enough, Drago had the same thought. "Indeed, we do, I understand you want to talk about my...special talent?" A servant offered him a cup of mead and he drank from it.

"Well, after last night's events, I cannot deny how handy it is for some of my own men to take to the skies…" I was going interrupt and say that riding dragons did more or less the same thing, but then again, a dragon rider seemingly started this attack. How ironic.

Drago took another sip and grunt. "Hmph, years ago, I nearly lost my head because I tried showing it to the world. Now, it seems like everyone around me wants to learn it."

"Well, whoever tried to do that was more than a little close minded." I suggested. Dad probably would have threatened Drago's life if he was going to force him into a dragon's body, but other than that I doubted he would have tried to cut the ragged man's head off. Then again, I doubted he'd believe someone like Drago could even exist.

Chief Slammaface glared at me for a moment, but then nodded in approval. "Quite." He sounded like he was strangling himself to death trying to say it.

Drago shook his head. "If that's what you want, I'll teach you or your men, but there's no guarantee you can learn it."

"And why's that?" The Chief raised his eyebrow. That, too, I had to wonder. Was there some kind of requirement that was needed to turn someone else or even yourself into a dragon?

Drago emptied his mug and wiped the his arm against his beard. "You can either learn it, or you don't, but I'll explain a little about that later. For now, I want to know something."

The Chief looked over to his three advisors for counseling and they all nodded in approval. "Well, what do you need?"

"Why are dragons ransacking your village?" questioned Drago.

That actually made me pay attention. Drago was right. It seemed odd dragons would attack Skullrock. "Yeah, dragon attacks rarely happen on that big of a scale during the day or even during afternoon. They usually strike at night to take advantage of their better senses in the dark. At best, you'll get a few daring ones wanting to take potshots during the day when no one really expects it, but you barely get anything that big."

Drago turned to look at me with a small grin on his face. "There you have it, why were dragons attacking your village yesterday?"

Chief Slammaface grimaced at the two of us, clearly he knew something. "That is a story for another time."

Drago grunted. "And the power I have is also a lesson for another time as well."

The Chief shook his head. "You don't have It's not your concern."

I then took a stand and moved ahead to the Chief. "Uh, sir, we both came here under to help you, out of… how many others you tried to seek aid from. I think we have a right to know why you're in so much trouble." Let it never be said, that I can't be the most diplomatic person in the room while simultaneously being the most hated. Maybe it was because I had so much experience dealing with Alvin and Dagur.

Drago bellowed a hearty laugh and slapped me right on the back. "Well said, boy! So, you aren't completely hopeless!"

"Only mostly," I added. Then we turned to the Chief who was starting to look a little green since new ally was now against him and backing someone he didn't quite like.

The Skullrock Chief frowned at us both. "Alright, alright, but I won't say it here… it'll be better I show you."

"And when will that be?" confronted Drago. "I don't have time; I have to search for the rest of my men by the end of the week!"And I had to find my missing friends, but I didn't exactly speak up. The only people who even remotely liked me were Drago and Eret, after all.

"...I need to make preparations, I'll show you later tonight at the Great Hall."

"And until then, I won't be telling you anything." Drago commented. He then got out of the chair and turned to me. "Looks like its time we get working on you."

"Wait, you can't honestly be thinking of letting that… rider learn this is safe?" Honestly, I thought that it was strange that the Chief was against me for riding dragons yet so buddy buddy with a guy who turns people into dragons, but it wasn't like riders saved Skullrock village. Oh, how I wished things went according to plan.

Drago got out of his seat and dusted himself off. "Don't worry, Slammaface, I'll make sure the runt doesn't cause us any problems. Besides, if he fails, he'll be locked up with the rest of dragons where he can't do us any harm." I cringed at his words. Until now, I never really understood that since I'd be a dragon in both body and in mind also meant that I'd be treated like one. That wasn't exactly a refreshing thought, especially since I had an idea of how Drago treated his dragons.

The Chief gave a look of agreement. "Well, then I hope things… end well."

Drago shook his head and then made his way out the building.

"That went better than I thought it would," Eret commented on our way out. The boy had kept his mouth shut during the whole affair, but I knew from a few glances at him that he was on edge during the meeting. He was probably expecting us to break out in a sword fight. To be fair, the Chief was unjustly piling blame on me just because I happened to share a hobby with someone who laid waste to his village. That's like getting mad at someone who owns a dog because someone you absolutely hate owned a dog! Once again, just being associated with Drago was a good thing.

"And I thought it was my job to expect the worst to happen!" I replied. "Hey ow! I bruise easily!" I grabbed my side, still feeling the echoes of pain from Eret's sudden nudge to my ribs.

"I swear, you never flinched at the guy!"

I shrugged. "I've had loads of practice dealing with people bigger and stronger than me." Namely, everybody, but I guess the enemies I've made probably stand out. "Besides, he's no where near as scary as your boss." And he was scary _because _he wasn't _just_ bigger_ or _stronger than me; I had the feeling he knew way more than I did and that's not something I normally find everyday.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Drago laughed, leading the way.

We made our way to the outskirts of the village, passing by the wreckage and ruined buildings as we went. Now that the dragons were no longer ravaging the down, the reconstruction process could begin. Families gathered around, rummaging through the rubble for any surviving valuables and heirlooms, many though found that nothing remained. It's always a sad occurrence to watch Vikings having to rebuild their new homes on the ashes of the old, but there wasn't much I could do about that.

There wasn't much for me to see there, only the sorrow. On one hand, I was glad I no longer had to see this scene on Berk. On the other, I wished I didn't have to see it here also. Maybe if I had come a little sooner, I could have helped them avoid all this, maybe spare some families the trouble of rebuilding, but now it was just too late.

Eventually, we made our way to the farthest corner of the village. The countryside wasn't ravaged as thoroughly. Buildings were so rarely packed close together, reducing the damage that could be dealt from stray embers. However, these fields were not being used for farming right now. There were maybe thirty or forty cages of various sizes and types. Each held a dragon inside, trapped and unable to break its way free. It reminded me the way things were in the former Kill Ring, only now the dragons weren't kept in the dark. "One thing I don't get though, if you can turn your men into dragons, why bother capturing actual dragons? You could just make more dragons if you wanted to, right?"

"Because capturing dragons to use on our side does give us more bodies to work with, " Eret explained. He pointed out at a Nadder that was walking outside of the cages, marching through and inspecting the various captives. Once or twice, the dragon squaked and antagonized the others. Given that the Nadder was not being bound in anyway nor making a run for it, I think that was someone Drago entrusted a… unique job to. "A good and trustworthy man is can lead a number of dragons more reliably than if we used a real dragon."

Drago nodded in approval. "Aye. It's one thing to remove an enemy in our way, but it's another thing to _repurpose _an enemy to our own ends."

I thought about that for a moment. If what he said was true, I guess that having a human in a dragon body leading real dragons was a smart idea. Granted, I thought that being turned into a dragon in more ways than just appearance would have negated that advantage, there might have been caveats I wasn't fully aware of just yet. "That makes sense then." Technically, there might not much difference between what I did with my dragon riding friends commanding our own dragons; well, other than the need to "get in character".

Eret nodded. "Yeah, it's a great way to add to our own forces."

"What's left of them anyways…" muttered Drago. He then led us over to an empty cage somewhere near the back. "Alright, runt, better get in and remove anything you don't want to lose…"

"Wait, in there?" I cried. I looked at my surroundings, not exactly feeling comfortable. I honestly admitted to wanting something a little more private, somewhere no one could… see me.

Drago, slapped himself on the forehead. "Just do it lad, you're not going to need them for much longer."

"Yeah, I'll keep your things safe…" blushed Eret.

I shook my head in disbelief. Maybe I was being a little bit of an idiot to forget something like the fact that I'd probably grow too large for anything I'm wearing right now, but I still can't help but feel a little upset that we were in a place where Drago's men could easily look in at me. "But why the cage?"

"You'll try to run off like last time. We just need to get you to stay put to… train you," Eret's face flushed even deeper red.

Drago turned to look at the sun, gauging the time. "Better hurry up, runt, we don't have the time for you to get so petty at a time like this. Once I change you, the thought will never cross your mind."

"But, I thought you were going to teach me to change myself!"

"And I am, but first you need a little more experience, now get in!" Drago shoved my in the cage, losing his patience.

"How long's this going to take?" Maybe if I was a little less hasty, I probably could have planned this out better. The main reason I wanted to learn to become a dragon was so that I could easily locate my friends, especially since the chances of me doing that alone and on foot were spotty at best and outright impossible at worst. It was dangerous out there and I was a boy missing a leg. I probably could get a search party, but I doubted Drago or Chief Slammaface would loan me a few men just to find my friends who were lost in a battle. Drago, maybe if I wasn't already relying on him so much and he didn't think I was being idiotic about my trusting dragons might lend me a hand, but there was no way the Skullrock Chief was going to do it.

"Not too long to get you used to this body, maybe an hour if you cooperate, but teaching you how to change yourself will take longer."

I nodded my head. That was acceptable. If I could learn to control myself within an hour, I could easily begin looking for my friends before lunch time. I had to remember this was not only to help me connect with Toothless, but to also help me find the rest of my friends. Just one of those things alone was worth a little sacrifice. There was no way I could find them alone on the island, not when I was disabled a "Alright just let me get ready."

I did as what Drago and Eret instructed me to do and knelt on the ground. I didn't even have my prosthetic leg with me, but I figure three legs might be enough for where I'm going.

In a long eternity latter, I felt Drago's palm touch my bare shoulder. "Night Fury," he whispered into my ear. Then, I heard him step away and close the cage door shut with a hard metallic clang. "Change."

In a sudden instant, my body suddenly felt like it became engulfed in flames, a powerful burning that felt like my very body was being cooked in a frying pan. I felt and saw black scale, scale just like Toothless's sprouting from every inch of my body. I felt sharp jolts of pain running through my body as extra limbs, my new wings and tail grew from nothing and the rest of my very bones twisted and writhed. I grew rapidly inside, my perspective of the world changing as it seemed to shrink slightly around me. The pain was intense, but short lived enough I didn't feel like passing out. I was honestly used to getting hurt, so a little pain wasn't as big as a deal.

But what bothered me more than what was happening on in my head. It was like I was one of those… metal things that could hold and that one of my Dad's friends wore on the head, but I was being emptied. I didn't remember what that item was and I slowly forgetting about more. The world's appearance didn't change, but how I thought of it did. The thing I was trapped frightened me because it limited my movement and ability to fly, much like how those large throngs of humans kept me trapped last night.

Then, I heard a clang of metal and I turned to find two human males, one elder, one younger approach me from inside my prison The elder scarred me, because I knew he was the Night Fury that pinned me last night, but the younger's appearance was fine, since I knew he was a friend.

I didn't understand the calls they made to each other. I felt like I should, but I just didn't.

Then, the younger approached me with large trout in his hands. He made a noise at me and offered me the food. I never realized it, but I was so hungry, so tired. I bit into the fish and swallowed it in a gulp.

The elder male laughed at himself, but I no longer understood why.

The younger approached me and gently patted me on the head. I liked that. Was this how my best friend felt when… I did it to him?

**And now Hiccup is a dragon. Enjoy. You've probably been all waiting for this one for a while.**


	10. Dragon Training

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**Wanted to get this out yesterday, but well, this was a hard chapter to write. You'll see why when you read Hiccup's thought process. **

**Either way, I think I did well given with what I wanted to do.**

**Also, I've got some new artwork for a thumbnail, courtesy of CAN.**

I should know what they say, but I don't. The two human males, both elder and younger spoke to each other, using cries that were both familiar and alien to me.

I remember using those very sounds, not too long ago, why don't I know them. I openned my mouth and made a noise. They should have understood, right? But they didn't seem to respond at me with looks other than confusion.

The younger male simply had that strange look on his face where he shows me his teeth. I remember it meant… amusement, enjoyment.

He put another fish in my mouth and I realized that maybe figuring out how to call to them could wait for a little while longer. I was hungry and I was safe… so long as the elder male wished I was. I swallowed the fish whole, wondering why I never did that more often. It was so easy to slurp it down my gullet.

The elder stood a few feet away from the younger, eying me in a way that made me shiver. The Night Fury behind his face scared me. I knew he was stronger in every way and with that strength came the right for him to do with me as he pleased. So far, he let the younger tend to me in peace. I approved of that.

The younger backed away from after a call from the elder. Both spoke amongst themselves, calling to each other in that mysterious noise. It didn't sound like a dragon's call, not like proper, understandable noise should, yet I knew they must have had some meaning I could have understood.

I was supposed to understand, supposed to know, yet I wasn't. I… chose not to be like them, didn't I?

I coughed out a fish head, my stomach feeling queasy. Everything was so… wrong.

I knew that not too long ago, I was like them. Human, a male, but with different fur. I was smaller than the younger male, but now I am not. I remember things from then, my life as one of them; I had a thing I used to beat other things to make them into other things, a father who was always so much bigger than me, and even a potential mate in the future. But everything didn't feel like they belonged to me; like I was looking at a stranger. My father should be a Night Fury like me, but he wasn't. My potential mate wasn't a Night Fury, either. And that tool I used, it had a name. I should know it, but _I shouldn't. _

My head was dizzy, the ground shaking beneath me. It was so hard to think about it, but I couldn't stop. I was a dragon, I shouldn't be having human worries, human ideas.

Sudden pain hit my foreleg and I jolted out my odd thinking.

The elder male, the one who was really a Night Fury, approached me, holding a long thing in his hands. It looked like a fine, but was made of blackened hide from cattle. He barked out something I didn't understand and raised his new weapon with the intent to lash me.

I jumped backwards and away before it could strike me. "Stop! Mercy!" I called out, but he didn't listen.

He levied his weapon again and this time I found my rear just up against my container's walls. I was struck this time and I felt an awful pain shoot up my left leg.

The elder kept shouting something that familiar, yet alien noise, repeating it over and over again as he approached. I had my body low to the ground and my tail between my legs, all the better to weather his beating; I surrendered, my body made that clear. I whimpered and cried as the elder human wounded me again, expecting something again. I just wanted him to stop, but I knew I was too weak to stand against him.

I don't know how many lashes he gave me with his weapon, but the elder male eventually put it away when he saw there were no results. I have no idea what he was expecting from me, but I was thankful he stopped.

I whimpered and licked at his feet, thankful for his mercy.

The man lifted his foot away and turned my head up. He knelt down and… did something with his hands. For some reason he had one of his fingers directed at himself and repeated that same call again.

I looked at him, confused, my ears drooping in perplexion. I remember that… gesture meant something, like body language I had forgotten. What did it mean again?

The elder slapped me in the face, getting me to focus on him. He repeated his call, directing his fingers to his chest. Did he… want me to observe him?

I looked at his chest, wondering what was so important. He those strange sheephides that all humans dawned, but that was… normal for them, right? It seems so strange to think I used to dawn them on, too. Why did I worry so much about not being without one?

The elder slapped my face again, letting me choke out a low whimper. No, that wasn't what he wanted. He pointed to himself again and raised my eyes until they met his. I whimpered thinking about the dragon behind those eyes, the stronger and more powerful elder that was behind that face. Still, the intention clearer this time. He wanted me to focus on him, not on what was on him. He made that noise again.

This time, I listened to the sound. "Dray-go…" The calls of humans seem so low in pitch, maybe even too soft compared to dragon's calls, but at least I was able to understand him. "Dray-go…" he repeated, still directing his fingers at himself.

The sound was so hard for me to grasp, much like how anyone could hear a bird's songs or a wolf's house, but not truly understand them. I knew that sound stood for something about the elder male, that much I could feel. I used to know this stuff, why couldn't I know it even now?

And then I got it. Or I think I did. I looked at the elder in the eyes, just in time for him to repeat himself again. "Dray-go…" he said.

I didn't have fingers like humans did, nor could I try repeating the sound back to them, but I tried my best. I raised a paw up and tapped the elder male on the chest. "Dray-go" stood for himself. Whenever he repeated it, I tapped him on the chest, making it known that I knew he was referring to himself.

By the third time I did that, his grin was almost wide enough to bite off my head. "Dray-go" shouted at the younger and before I knew it I found there was a fish put right into my mouth.

I immediately swallowed it whole, knowing it was my reward for solving that difficult puzzle.

The younger male approached me next, saying a different sound and pointing at himself. "Er-et" was the call.

I wagged my tail in anticipation, eager to solve it for the younger was both my friend and someone I knew would be eager to please. I knew the elder was "Dra-go", so that meant "Er-ette" stood for the younger one. I tapped him on the shoulder, eagerly awaiting his answer.

The younger grinned at me and patted me on the head, scratching me behind the ear. My tail thumped on the floor, proud of my achievements. "Er-ette" gave me another fish, one that I chose not to swallow all of. I bit off the tail and swallowed it, leaving behind on the the head. I then dropped the rest onto the floor and nudged it over to the younger male. A long time ago, I remember my best friend did this to me once. Before, I thought it was an odd, yet strangely disgusting act that I only did out of respect. Really, there wasn't much meaning behind it, Er-ette should have have some too since he was so nice.

Dray-go did not like this and kicked away the raw fish before the younger male could grab it. He stared up at me and turned his index finger toward my chest this time. "Hick-up," he stated flatly.

I blinked, understanding what he was trying to imply, but not. I now understood that "Er-ette" referred to the younger and "Dray-go" meant the older, but applying "Hick-up" to myself seemed a little odd… The sound was meaningless to my ears, yet it strangely brought up uncomfortable feelings that made me feel like I was the smallest hatchling of my brood. Again, like human cries in general, it was so alien, yet so familiar, only this time an order of magnitude more so.

"Hick-up," the younger male stated.

I nodded my head.

The others shook their's as well. They both understood what I meant.

Er-ette put another fish into my mouth.

I was about to swallow it again, but before I could, the fish was gone.

The elder male a grabbed hold of my prize by the tail and dangled it before me. "No!" he shouted.

If it had been anyone other than him, I would have tried to fight for the fish. But I knew better than that. The furious eyes of the human male were only a fraction of the anger and rage of the other Night Fury's. I did not dare to challenge him. I went down onto my stomach and whimpered in defeat.

Dray-go snorted and then tossed me the fish onto the ground. I looked at him one moment, trying to puzzle out his reasoning. Instead, the elder male just walked away from me, not even bothering or troubling to explain himself.

Strangely, that told me what I needed to know. This was another lesson I needed to learn, that everything I had been given up until now, including safety and food, were all because he chose to let me have them. I was reliant on his mercy and whims and thus, I needed to obey his commands. The only reason he took the fish away only to give it back were to remind me I was _his._

I… didn't eat the fish off the ground, my appetite taken away.

One of the walls to my prison then opened as my master approached it and did something to the wall. Er-ette and Dray-go both stepped outside and turned to me.

With a wave of their hands, a strange gesture that I didn't understand. It took me a minute to realize they were beckoning me over.

I got up and uneasily walked over to them. Using my legs felt so strange, since my fourth was a stump from knee downward. I think it was burned away, but that should have been impossible; I was a dragon after all. Everything was so confusing anyways.

I hobbled over to the other two, out of the small prison that held me.

Without the roof over my head, I could clearly see the afternoon sun gazing down over me. I thought for a moment of maybe taking off and seeing to greet it. Then I turned to the elder male, to Dray-go, and I knew that wouldn't be allowed.

I bowed my head over to his feet and whimpered, waiting for his order.

I saw the elder grin at me in satisfaction and knelt down over to me. I felt him place his hand over my head just around the same time the younger placed a large sheep's hide… thing over me.

Eerie pain that felt like I was being squashed like… butter washed over me. It felt so strange knowing that, even though I really shouldn't worry about it. Concepts that I had forgotten mere moments before suddenly materialized in my mind. Language, words, everything that I knew about being human returned to me, just in time to fill in the gaps left my by sudden departure from being a dragon.

The blanket of wool that moments ago was a bit smaller than my wings now positively engulfed me enough that I had to spend a good second or two to drag it off of my face.

When I did so, I found myself looking face to face with Drago Bludvist, his face contorted into an amused smile. "Congratulations, runts, you're trained!" he laughed.

I groaned, not feeling up to argue from my position down at his feet. I couldn't get up without a missing leg, nor did I feel like it. Unlike last time, I actually remember in full detail what had transpired when I was a dragon and I can't really say I enjoyed my second outing. It was really hard to describe suddenly forgetting and remembering things, but all I knew was that it made my head feel woozy. My stomach felt just as bad, for completely different reasons. I can't believe I ate that much raw fish! I felt like I was about to throw up at any moment.

Drago still laughed wholeheartedly. He patted me on the back, as if I had done something worth mentioning. "Don't worry, runt, we won't have to do stuff like that to you again unless you get out of line."

"Right…" I gagged. "Was all of that really necessary?"

Drago laughed. "Of course it is. I told you, dragons, espeically Night, are vain, pridefully and independant. If I didn't lay any ground rules, the first thing you'd have done at the first opportunity would have been to fly off somewhere! Now that you know I'm in charge, you won't stray too far."

I frowned. Yeah, I can see how that can be a problem. As a dragon, there was no telling where I would go if I didn't have things keeping me anchored to the island. I could easily go home, I could easily go to the edge of the world at the same time. On the other hand, flying off somewhere still seemed so appealing. The idea of Drago "setting ground rules" for me as a dragon was not exactly a pleasant thought.

I might have been human again, but looking at Drago now made me feel a little less secure than I did an hour ago. The irony of just having went through "dragon training" was not lost on me. Drago's methods might not have exactly been the same as any of the ones I used on Toothless, but I am still guilty of making him act in manners according to my own preferences. I made him reliant on me and Toothless became _mine. _

I shook my head. No, if I wanted to apologize to him, I first needed to find him. _And _my other friends for that matter.

Eret tapped me on the shoulder, reminding me he was still there. "Well, now that that lesson's taken care of, we can get you back in your duds."

"Oh, I don't know, I think I like being on the ground." I shook my head, now wasn't the time for jokes. "Drago, can you turn me back into a dragon?"

The two other Vikings gave me confused looks, obviously surprised.

Eret spoke up first, since Drago was too busy laughing to himself like I made a real funny joke. "Man, Hiccup, you're either crazy or…"

"Oh, I'm _definitely _crazy!" I quipped. "Maybe a little mad on the side, but I'm very crazy."

Drago smirked to himself. "That you are. Never have I met another so… willing to go change his form soon. Why're you so eager, runt?"

"I think I need to spend a little time by myself; see the island a little from a dragon's eyes…" And to find my friends. I don't think I told anyone else too much about them, but just in case, I was going to keep quiet about that part of my goals until I was sure it was safe for them. Still, I had no idea what their condition was; everyone was lost in that attack.

Drago grunted something. He probably didn't believe me; I wouldn't put it past him. "Well, I guess so long as you know who's in charge, it's a safe bet to let you… wander a little."

Eret nodded. "Yeah. I don't think he'll set fire to anyone's house or maim the elderly.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't need to be a dragon to do those things!"

Drago knelt down and placed his hand on me again. "Right, just remember to be back before dark, we need to speak with the Chief about his… reasons."

I nodded. "I intend to." So long as I can remember that. Being a dragon did… odd things to my memory, so I don't know about if I'd remember the exact time or reason.

Approving, Drago then said the the words to change me. "Night Fury, Change."

Before I was overwhelmed by pain as my body changed shape and my mind was twisted and bent to fit the mold of a dragon, I wondered for a moment, how was I going to act in front of my friends? When I had turned just now, I remembered the… relationships I had with Drago and Eret. I had an idea of how to act around them.

But with my friends, well, I've known them for longer and my relationship with either of them wasn't exactly something so easy to define. Even more importantly, how was I going to act around their dragons?

Then, briefly, I wondered why I bothered thinking such things in the first place. It was unimportant, not when the thought of meeting them all again made my tail sway in the air.

**Who would have known trying to describe a human turned dragon's thought processeses would be so convoluted. Hiccup knows, yet doesn't know. Doesn't know, yet knows. It's probably a key factor to why so many of Drago's men dislike being dragons; it's got to be so unnerving to listen to Norse and not really know the langauge despite being native speakers.**


	11. Unexpected Meeting

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**More Hiccup as a dragon today. **

**Hope you like it and leave a comment. See you another time.**

I loved flying. Flying was something me and my best friend and I did for pleasure, a simple act that we both could easily share in, but before I only experienced flight as his passenger. This was different. I have gone flying, but I have never been the one to take flight. Not until now.

My massive wings caught the wind beneath them, lifting me upward up and above the ground. My tail gently swayed back and forth behind me, guiding my path. Now, I was the one flying, not riding. I was not like them, those humans who were always stuck on the ground. Not right now anyways. Maybe later. The Alpha Night Fury wants me to stay, then so I shall.

I couldn't understand why I never flown by myself before; it all felt so easy, I simply knew what I did need to do. If I want to climb higher, I simply raised my tail; go lower, lower it. My wings did all the rest.

Why didn't I fly alone before? Or better, why didn't my best friend and I fly separately? We could have had such fun together racing each other or outdoing each other's stunts. Maybe now I have wings of my own, we can have some real fun. It almost felt so easy to forget I did not have wings before. Almost.

I know I am not a dragon, yet it seems so strange to be a dragon yet not. It's easier to focus on that now, but I keep feeling so confused about everything, especially when it came to myself. I hope it stops.

I shook my head. I had to focus, my best friend was still gone as were all my other friends. I needed to find my companions; my troubles and desire to play with them can wait a little later.

I did not know where my friends all went, nor did I exactly know where I lost them. But I did know where I lost my best friend. I turned to the ground, below me, retracing my steps last night. I remember clearly where I was carried by the younger human male, Er-ette, back when I was so small. His stench still linger in the direction we went, strong and potent enough that I could follow it by smell. Well, I did before I saw those funny indents on the ground. I don't know what they are or how they are made, but there were many of these weird… lines of markings going in the direction of the younger male's smell. So, I figure if there's some sort of connection, it was convenient enough that I could just follow these lines from the sky so I didn't have to track it all on foot. I felt really odd about using Er-ette's smell in such a way, like I should be… embarrassed about it. I don't know why, but I just was.

Eventually, the trail came to an end, at least the part I cared about did. Below me, I could see divots of land that had been torn up by a great force, tree branches that had been violently torn from their owners, most importantly, a cliff. This was the site of the crash landing and the fight last night, the place where my best friend and I parted ways.

I promptly landed to inspect the area better, starting with the crater that was formed when my best friend was forced to fall. His scent was still fresh, a strange powerful odor that filled my nostril For some reason, I wanted to drench him in water the next time that I saw him, but still, it was his scent. It was strange, we've know each other for so long, yet I never bothered to know my best friend's own smell. I shook my head. I had his scent, I could find him now. Then, once I got him, we could find our other friends.

I turned over to the cliff and glided off of it, reaching the bottom in the time it took me to make a heartbeat. Below, I found there was more evidence of conflict, my best friend fighting off that large dragon no doubt. Trees were fell by dragon fire, stones shattered by the the wrestling of great creatures. The trail was still fresh in both scent and in evidence, enough for me to follow.

I dashed forth, wanting to know the condition my friend was in. Maybe he fended off the other dragon and that strange human who rode with him. I bounded over fallen logs, ducked my way under toppled canopies, eager to know of what happened.

Unfortunately, I found what happened. The scents grew thicker and thicker until I ended up in a clearing in the forest and there I saw a scene that bothered me more than it should have. My best friend wore this ridiculous getup that I needed to help him fly in, I don't remember how it all worked right now, but because of how essential it was to us both, we rarely took it off. That garment now in the center of the clearing, but my best friend was no where to be found.

I approached the cattlehide apparel in startled surprise. It had been shredded to pieces with hardened remnants of blood dripping from where the outfit was torn. Clearly, my friend lost and now he was taken captive.

I sniffed around the air, wanting to know if there was anywhere else I could go. Unfortunately, the scent trail ended here. I found the scents of many dragons around here, almost all of them only landing here for a second. My friend must have been lifted by air and that made tracking him by smell almost impossible since any scent that could be formed would be scattered by the wind before I could pick it up. I breathed heavily, thrashing my tail hard enough that it snapped the branch it landed on. This wasn't fair, my friend was gone and there was nothing I could do to…

Wait. I turned my body around, the noise of dragon caws and calls meeting my ears. It might have been that human again, maybe someone worse, other dragons who were going to bully me. My Though I was certainly stronger than I ever was before, I wasn't so eager to take my chances while outnumbered.

I leapt out of the clearing and went behind a nearby rock that was large enough to hide my presence. Hopefully, with any luck the new comers wouldn't notice my scent or hear the breathing of my heart.

A Nadder's head was the first to poke itself out of the brush. It's head was covered in welts and bruises, but nothing really major on her completion. Her legs though were a different matter and there were these vines and cloth things wrapped around her ankles for some reason. She limped and lurched a little forward, wounded but still relatively well. I recognized the creature, she was the companion of someone very important to me.

And just like that, a human female with hair that shined like they were bright embers appeared from out of the foliage. She patted the hurt Nadder on the head gently and kept her moving along. She said something in that strange human tongue I don't understand, but I had a feeling that even if I did know it, I wouldn't care. My heart thumped with such force upon seeing my potential mate that I wondered how anyone couldn't hear it.

The Nadder bobbed its head toward my general direction, probably catching my scent in the breeze or hearing my thumping heart. But my potential mate got in the way, relaxing the wounded dragon's nerves with a gentle tongue under the jaw. I'll admit to making a low growl of jealous at the scene, I wanted her attention.

Right after them, two others made their way out. My oldest friend and a Gronkle stepped into view.

Like my potential mate, I didn't understand the strange cries he made, but it was good to see someone I felt trustworthy about.

The Gronckle was also wounded, but her's were not as major as the Nadder's, mostly consisting of nicks and bruises on her thickly armored side. Gronckles were tough, I recall and she was no different.

My eldest friend and potential mate made calls to each other and then to others who were not in view. Again, I don't understand them exactly, but I think they were signalling whoever was following them.

Next came two blonde furred humans that I… honestly wasn't surprised to find surviving. I remember both being quite frightening in their ability to take punishment and just… keep going. Mostly, they kept beating other up. They looked completely unsctatched except for the fact their outfits were reduced to rags.

The dragon… or dragons behind them, depending on how you counted Zipplebacks, were in much the same state, suffering bruised eyes from the encounter.

The twins barked out something to the others and there was a discussion going on that I didn't comprehend. I think there was an argument given how loud and angry everyone spoke to each other… which actually would mean things were fine. It's when everyone was cooperating perfectly that things were dire, right?

The last dragon amongst my friends showed up. Though the Nightmare fell early in the battle against that strange human and her dragon flock, he looked to be completely unharmed.

Who wasn't so fortunate, was my old enemy and sometimes rival that was mounted atop the approaching Nightmare. He was wrapped up in vines and cloths that made me wonder if he was even allowed to move. He didn't look to be in dire straits, but he wasn't exactly enjoying himself either. He shouted something at the others, I think a complaint about his condition. My friends then all laughed at him… or with him; I wasn't sure given my sometimes rival's uncomfortable grin.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone seems to have made it more or less in one piece. Maybe I didn't have my best friend, but at least I had all my other friends. They could help me find my best one, maybe defeat that strange human. We used to do that stuff all the time if I recall.

Still, a part of me hesitated about simply showing myself to them. I knew they would be expecting someone shorter, not as I was now. How would they know? And how could I convince the Alpha Night Fury not to declare them trespassers. I scooted back a few paces, careful not to alert my friends. The dragons all noticed my uncomfortable shifting in the fallen foliage.

My companions, well, most of them approached the clearing and looked over at the spot where the tattered remains my best friends things lie. There were some worried cries and hushed tones used by the humans while the dragons drank in the smell of our missing comrade.

"Not here!" cried the Gronkle, staring up into the air.

"Maybe flown," barked the Nightmare.

"Other scents too," replied one head of the Zippleback.

"Many others," replied the other head of the Zippleback.

It was so strange to hear dragon calls and know what they mean. I remember always hearing them make their noises, their short barks, whines, and cries, but never before I knew what meant. On the other hand, I thought it was so strange to wonder about that. Why wouldn't I know what they mean? It was human cries that were odd with their strange construction and overly long way of speaking. Proper speech had to be direct, to the point.

The Nadder was the last to approach, her limping movements slowing her down immensely. She sniffed at my best friend's torn garment. "Most old. There fresh scent," she spoke to the others and took a deep sniff of it. "Odd scent. Familiar. Like Night Fury. Nearby."

The dragons all took note of that, bobbing their heads up and down. They all turned towards my general direction, as if finally realizing that there was someone else behind that rock.

That was understandable to both humans and dragons alike. The humans and spoke cries of retaliation, well, most of them; my old enemy or sometimes rival muffled out something that I think even if I knew what humans spoke would still be completely unintelligible. Regardless, everyone readied for a fight, my potential mate in particular drew forth that weapon I always saw her carry; I just wish I recalled the name for it.

I felt like running away, but wounded or not, I wasn't sure I wanted to fight any of my friends. No, since they were wounded, I wanted to fight them even _less. _I hid behind the rock for as long as I could, wishing that maybe they would forget I was there.

They didn't. Everyone that was able to approached me, fanning out around the stone. The Nightmare and the Nadder stayed behind the others, either tending to someone too injured to fight or wounded themselves.

Then, I just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't going to fight my friends, but I wasn't going to keep hiding from them either. Frightened, I poked my head out of the rock, letting them see me as the dragon I had become.

Each of the humans all gave shouts and cries of awe, of astonishment, that much I could tell. None of us had ever seen a second Night Fury before and I got to be that one. The dragons weren't as pleased with me, each giving low warning growls before the humans urged them to stop. I hope that was enough to get them to drop their guard or better, let them know it was me.

Then, I completely left the rock, exposing my whole body to them. They all gave more cries, though this time pained and worried when they saw I was missing a leg. Even the dragons looked at me with concern. I went closer to them all, stopping a short distance away from my potential mate and best friend. I dropped my rear onto the ground and began to sit, waiting for them to approach me. Surely, even they would know I meant no harm to them.

The humans all disccused what to do with me, their noise erratic and dazed. My potential mate dropped her weapon's heavier end to the ground, but kept it in her hands. She sounded angry, but not particularly at me.

I wagged my tail up in the air, patiently awaiting one of them to approach me. Surely, she would know what happened to me; she was smart, much smarter than I.

The dragons though were less hesitant about their descision making. They had an easy way to know if I was a threat or not for dragons could speak to each other.

"Who are you?" questioned the Nadder.

**Interesting thing. Because the whole point of the transformation renders a human into a dragon in not just body but in mind, they don't need to be taught the dragon things when they forget the human stuffs. Because if they did, it would be quite a while for it to pay off.**

**Most animals do not know what footprints are. Toothless may be quite smart, but I don't think Night Furies really "get" foot prints completely.**


	12. A Really Odd Talk

**Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.**

**Sorry for those of you who were wondering why this story hasn't updated for a few weeks. I had my computer die on me, preventing me from writing at my usual levels. I hope to eventually return to my usual level of competence, so here's the next chapter for you.**

**Please Read and Review. **

I kept my rear planted to the ground as the other dragons approached me cautiously; they might have been my friends and the friends of my friends, but their posture told me they didn't feel the same way. At the very least the humans did not see me as a threat and dropped their weapons

"Asking again, who are you?" questioned the Nadder taking a step forward with a cautious gait. She and the other dragons sniffed at the air, just out of the reach of my paws and drank in my scent. Well, everyone save the Nightmare who was too busy tending to his injured human in a full body… something.

"You know me," I replied, but they didn't seem the least bit convinced.

"We do not," replied the Gronckle, stepping away and brushing against the side of her human.

The others nodded in agreement, especially both heads belonging to the Zippleback.

"Your scent, unfamiliar," declared the pink lipped head.

"We do not know you," added the other head.

I frowned. I knew they probably knew my human scent since I did have to spend time with them every now and again, but it never occurred to me that as a dragon my scent would be different. That made things a whole lot harder, maybe the direct approach this time. "I am human," I replied. "I am your missing friend." I don't remember how I would have done this as a human, but I think if I tried communicating as one, I could have come off as more convincing for reasons I am not too sure of right now. There was also something plainly obvious that I was missing out on, maybe I would have better reasoning to use.

The dragons all blinked at my statement and shook their heads as if to looking at me like I said something crazy or impossible. It was oddly refreshing to have them give me that look, almost like they believed me. On the other hand that probably wasn't a good thing.

"Either lies or insanity," declared the Nadder stepping away from me with a skree. "You are not human. That is impossible."

My potential mate eyed me as if trying to make a choice. I sat there patiently as she approached and the other dragons parted. I flashed her a display of my teeth and wagged my tail in anticipation. If she knew who I was, maybe just maybe I could bring her back to the Alpha so I might speak with her. Maybe if I was lucky, the Alpha wouldn't force her away from me and he'd let her speak with me in the right language. Wait, that was no, that wasn't quite right.

I turned my attention back to my potential mate. She focused on my lower body for some reason, the stump of where my leg was cut off by the knee. She bent down and leaned over to it, touching the stump in what must have been morbid curiosity. I let her do so, since the injury was long healed if a little sore, but not before giving her affectionate licks to the cheek.

She whinnied some sort of noise that told me she wasn't particularly offended, though she guarded herself from my barrage of slobber I poured all over her. Once I was done, she squinted her eyes at me as if annoyed, yet I didn't forget knowing what that meant coming from her. She wiped off the slobber with her paws and threw the stick substance onto the ground.

I thumped my tail on the ground and looked at her intently, hoping she would figure it out. Although… I don't know how she could tell, now that I thought about it. I needed to think of a way to get her to the Alpha, to Dray-go

She patted me on the head, a gesture I wasn't quite sure of other than it meant she didn't see me as a threat. She then went back to her task and touched at the old battle wound I had won. Her hands went all over the healed stump, feeling it as if wondering how I had come to receive it. The others approached, the same question over their minds.

"Leg... burned off?" the Gronckle took note of it first, her expression slightly bewildered.

"Yes. Beat big dragon!" I barked with no small degree of pride. Well, I had help and I didn't fight the dragon as a dragon, but it still counted as far as I was concerned. There's no point downplaying my accomplishments, not when I rightfully deserved them.

"But burned off leg?" questioned the Zippleback's sparking head.

"Not normal," added the other.

"We can burn!" I said cheerfully. While it wasn't normal for dragons to be burned to death, it happened, but it either took overwhelming heat… or some clever thinking to do that. "Other dragon exploded! You saw it."

The dragons all eyed each other at that statement, especially the Nadder. They still didn't believe me, but at least I was making progress.

During this time, the humans were off making their strange cries, speaking to each other with those unusual tones. The two blonde headed ones were off fighting, probably caught up in some argument that was completely pointless to anyone but them. Unfortunately for my old rival, he was in between the two of them while they both shouted at each other.

The large male, my oldest friend went over with my potential mate to examine my wound. He had this strange… object in his hand that made images inside its… circle look bigger somehow. Oh, I wish I could understand what he was doing; I remember doing this before, knowing what it was and how it was used, but everything is all a blur when it came to my human life.

"Where did we see this? " questioned the Nadder, awkwardly walking to hover nearby my potential mate. "Who did we fight?"

I thumped by tail happily, knowing that this was my one chance to set things straight and tell them. "We fought together. Against a great wyrm!"

The Nadder looked at me, even more bewildered. But as if to compensate for her confusion she lifted up her wings in an intimidating stance to make herself look tougher than she was. She stared at me in the eyes and skreed loudly. "You are mistaken! You were not there! Do not die!"

I wasn't amused. I growled a low warning growl towards the Nadder. I was her friend because she was friends with my potential mate, yes, but I was also her superior. I was not going to have that authority questioned. The Alpha was the only one above me… and for good reason! If she wanted to threaten that order then-

Then, my potential mate put her paw over my nose and turned my gaze to hers. Strangely, for a limb that was seemingly so small compared to my head, she was strong enough to avert my eyes from the other dragon. It made sure that my attention was focused on her. Then, she did something with her hands, sticking up one digit and clenching the rest into ball and then causing the single digit to sway back in forth. She made this sound, that I think might have been scolding. "Bad! Bad!" were the cries she made.

My wings and tail dropped to the ground, knowing I had done wrong. Though I didn't understand what she was actually saying, I knew her tone of voice well enough to know she wasn't pleased with me. Scratch that, my potential mate was above me, probably even above the Alpha.

The Nadder was getting the same treatment from my oldest friend, though he and the Gronckle had to push her away to stop us from fighting. My potential mate looked at the three of them as they moved away, turning back to me, frowning at me. She then looked into my eyes, as if to see something was there. At least, something other than the mixed feelings of me being both glad and terrified of her.

I gazed into her eyes in turn, though I don't really know what to look for. Eyes were strange, I got they were important for some reason for humans, but right now, I didn't see the point. Instead, I focused on what was right in front of me. I took in my potential mates scent, an odd aroma that contained the hints of her activities within the past week. Iron, blood, sweat, and a Nadder's fire, that was what she reeked of and I was fine with it.

Then, my potential mate averted her eyes from me and stood up. She turned her gaze to the rest of the group and then spoke out a cry of some sort one which I couldn't understand, all except for a single noise, one which the Alpha used in reference to me earlier this day: "Hick-Up". That got everyone's attention, even the twins who were wrestling each other to the ground stopped and the dragons all turned to focus on me with wide eyed looks.

The humans all replied with shouts of their own to address my potential mate. There was some sort of frenzied discussion going on between them all, once which I hoped had a topic like "Hick-up is a Night Fury."

The other dragons clearly understood my potential mate's calls, having spent so much time around humans. They all eyed me, having their own ideas over what was being said. "That the little human. Know where he is?" questioned the Gronckle.

"No! No!" I barked. Why were they so insistent that I was not myself. Was I just simply too big? "I am him. I am here!"

My potential mate cried out that word at random peroids, talking to the others.

"That me! That me!" I declared, insisting heavily to the dragons the second time my potential mate said that noise. "Why don't you believe?"

The Nadder still looked skeptical, but the Gronckle held her off from advancing to act on it. "But how?" she questioned.

"I changed!" I stated simply. I mean, that's how this all happened. Well, maybe I could explain it better. I twisted my body around and began showing them each of my parts. "Human touch me! I turn into Night Fury!"

The dragons were all justified in eying me like I was an incredible confused and confusing dragon. I didn't blame them, that pretty much summed up my day. I mean, how many humans turn people into dragons were there? I didn't know there were any until today.

Then I heard my potential mate call out something to me. I didn't understand anything other than the sound she used specifically to refer to me: "Hick-up!"

I jumped towards her, eager to please. My tail wagged behind me, my mood elated with her attention. "I am here!" I cried, ready to act at her command, even if I didn't understand.

She spoke more in that not-language humans had, all completely undesciperable except for a "Hick-up" at the end.

She must have understood, known it was me that was right in front of her. That was the only possible explanation. I was happy to have a smart future mate.

I leapt up at her and brought her to the ground underneath me, pinning her with my paws. She was surprised, but she didn't sound frightened, maybe entertained with little chuckles escaping her lips. I slobbered all over the human female's face with my tongue, coating her in as much affection as possible.

… And I probably would have put more onto her if a certain Nadder didn't snap at me. "Get of, Night Fury!" she shouted in my face.

I leapt in sudden surprise and turned tail just far enough to take up a defensive stance, all four limbs ready to strike. I growled at the other dragon, annoyed and agitated, once I finished acting on reflex alone. I did not like her, for being in my way. First she doesn't accept my word and now she interrupted a private affair.

The Nadder growled as well, not backing down despite her injuries.

Then my potential mate stood and dusted herself off. She patted the Nadder's forehead for a second and just like that the other dragon stopped growling at me, her eyes still locked on.

I didn't waver though and kept up with my threat. No weakness, especially when facing those bellow you. There was nothing in the world that could- wait, why was my potential mate still in the way?

The the human female stepped forward, her eyeballs rolling inside their sockets for some reason. She went over me and approached my face yet again, blocking my view of the Nadder entirely. I panicked for a second, fearing my foe would use the opportunity to strike. I would turn my head to take a quick peak, but my mate's hands held me firm with a touch that was feather light.

She cried out something to me one more time, the same call she used a minute before. Having it repeated to me a second time helped me understand something I didn't on the first time she said: it was a request. By the time she spoke that sound to refer to me a second time, I knew she needed me to do something and that was more important than some… trivial dispute from a weakened Nadder.

My tail swayed in the air behind me, as if I was checking to make sure I could use it in the upcoming moments. I licked the human female yet again and then bounded off in the distance. Once I was a few jumps away, I turned my head back and looked at her.

She didn't move at first, but once she figured out what I wanted her to do, she following along behind me. The Nadder, despite her wounded feet ran after her and in a few steps caught up to the human female's spring. In a quick jump that was visible proof of my potential mate's prowess, she leapt onto the dragon and quickly mounted.

My oldest friend followed soon afterward, shouting something while crawling ontop of the Gronckle. After him came my old enemy and sometimes friend, carried by the Nightmare since he never left. The large dragon lazily followed after me and my potential mate, not all too eager. Lastly, the twins and the Zippleback followed as well, the humans sounding disappointed about something. Knowing them they probably wanted to see me defeat the Nadder, but I had more important things to do than worry about that.

I didn't fly, since I wanted my friends… and the Nadder to follow me. They were all injured and while it would be acceptible for me to just leave them all behind, I felt that just bringing them over was a smart plan.

My potential mate clearly wanted me to show her to the Alpha. After that, we could be together. I couldn't wait to go flying with her.

**Notice how Hiccup is bragging about his accomplishments. That's not something I think most of us will be comforted by. Dragons despite their great intelligence compared to most other animals are still very bestial and territorial. Hiccup as a dragon is heavily influenced by this new nature.**

**Also, note how dragon sentence structure works. Three or four words at most for any statement and it seems to be rendered in broken English. This is my attempt at trying to show how an animal-like being's language, if it can be called that, is in respect to say a human language which can get more varied and have variable sentence structure.**


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